so together, we can keep moving america forward. i'm barack obama and i approve this message. good morning. now it'sour turn. america heads to the polls today to choose who will be in the white house for the next four years. president obama and governor romney neck and neck after waging the most expensive political campaign in u.s. history. will it be a long night that stretches into the morning? it's up to the voters today, tuesday, november 6th, 2012. from nbc news, this is a special edition of "today," election day 2012, with matt lauer and savannah guthrie live from democracy plaza.

and welcome to "today," and democracy plaza on this tuesday morning, election day 2012. good morning, everyone. i'm savannah guthrie. >> and i'm matt lauer, and it seems like we've been talking about this day for the better part of two years because we have been talking about this day for the better part of two years. it's already here. seeing a lot of traffic at polling sites all across the country and especially in the swing states n.virginia, for example, people actually camped out overnight to be among the first in line. >> president obama is spending his day in chicago where he voted early two weeks ago. he's planning to do some satellite interviews to reach voters in the battleground states and will take part in his traditional election day basketball game. >> as for governor romney, he'll begin his day voting in massachusetts before making some last-minute campaign stops in ohio and pennsylvania. how are the candidates feeling this morning? we'll talk to top advisers from

both of the campaigns coming up straight ahead. >> but we want to start with the state of the race today and a final snapshot of this contest from the polls, and this is the most up-to-date nationa poll we have, president obama holding a three-point lead over governor romney, but, of course this, race will be decided tonight state by state, and perhaps the most prized state among them, ohio, where president obama's advantage among likely voters has shrunk to just one point, according to this poll. >> take a look at new hampshire, governor romney trails the president among likely voters there, but there's good news for governor romney. among independents, a sizable 14-point lead, and the results are already in for one new hampshire town. residents in tiny dixville notch began voting at midnight, that's traditional. five votes for the president and five for governor romney. again, this could be a very long night. >> so what are they saying about this race in the swing states where it matters? wisconsin's "journal sentinel" reports chilly, rainy forecast could affect voting. milwaukee-area voters could face

the coldest election day in more than 30 years, and "cincinnati enquirer" says it all. costly campaigns have come down to ohio. the campaigns have spent almost $2 billion so far this election making a combined 68 visits to ohio alone. >> all right. we have both campaig covered this morning starting with governor romney. nbc's peter alexander is in belmont, massachusetts. peter, good morning to you. >> reporter: matt, good morning to you. at this time tomorrow mitt romney will either wake up as president-elect or return to life as a private citizen. he'll be here in a short time. this is his polling site in belmo belmont, here with his wife ann and returns to the campaign trail today. aides say he'll thank volunteers and try to motivate supporters in two key states, ohio and pennsylvania. on the eve of the election mitt and ann romney enjoyed a rock star's welcome in the granite state. >> thank you, new hampshire! >> tomorrow your votes and your

work right here in new hampshire will help me become the next president of the united states. >>. >> reporter: after a six-year quest for the white house, the office now potentially within reach, mr. romney cast his campaign as a shared movement. >> this is much more than our moment. it's america's moment of renewal and purpose and optimism. we have journeyed together far and wide in this great campaign for america's future, and now we're almost home. one final push, and we'll get there. >> reporter: earlier during an interview on "monday night football" romney joked about the red sox and patriots championships during his term as massachusetts governor. >> hey, look, as a governor, you get blamed for everything that goes wrong, you might as we'll get the credit for what goes right. >> reporter: romney advisers insist turnout will be key, but with polls showing the president clinging to an ever so slight advantage in the campaign's precious days mr. romney squeezed in five event in four

battleground, each one strategically selected. from the affluent suburbs of northern virginia. >> i'm looking around to see if we have the beatles here or something that brought you, but it looks like you came just for the campaign, and i appreciate it. thank you. >> reporter: to central ohio. governor romney punctuated his long journey with a simple message. >> let's make sure that everyone we know gets out to vote on tuesday. >> reporter: and this hopeful promise. >> this nation is going to begin to change for the better tomorrow. >> reporter: and the romney campaign is exceedingly confident. they cite polls that show them ahead with independents, and they say they have a more motivated base right now so they are confident tomorrow morning they will be declared victors. >> peter alexander, thanks. let's go to nbc's kristen welker at president obama's campaign headquarters in chicago. kristen, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning to you, savannah. president obama arrived here in his hometown of chicago overnight. he's staying in his own home. later today he will watch

returns in a hotel with family and friends and his closest advisers, many who say this is a moment filled with anticipation and nostalgia. with an eye on his future, president obama reached back to the past. >> i've come back to iowa one more time to ask for your vote. >> reporter: the first lady by his side, the president held his final campaign event in iowa, the state which gave mr. obama his first 2008 victory launching his improbable and historic journey. an emotional night even for a president known for keeping his cool. >> when the cynics said we couldn't, you said yes, we can. >> reporter: it capped a frenetic final day of campaigning with mr. obama traveling more than 1,000 miles to defend the midwest states he's expected to need for re-election, iowa, wisconsin and critical ohio. >> when you're making this choice, ohio, you have to

remember that this isn't just about policy, it's also about trust. >> reporter: with the election so tight the president has made every second count in this final push stopping by a campaign office in columbus, making last-minute phone calls urging his supporters to turn out. >> we'll bring it home tomorrow. let's keep it going. >> reporter: and even appearing on "monday night football." >> in politics it's not winning elections, it's making sure that you're delivering for the folks who sent you. >> reporter: and while his top surrogates stormed the battleground states, some of the biggest names in entertainment also lent their voices, from jay-z. ♪ if we go for four more years >> reporter: to bruce springsteen who admitted he was rattled by that dismal first debate. >> actually the first debate really freaked me out. >> reporter: and now after four years in office and months of intense campaigning. >> it's out of my hands now. it's in yours. >> reporter: and you're looking at a live shot now of greenville, delaware, where vice

president biden is expected to vote any minute now. this is the band room of dupont high school. now, mr. obama became the first president to vote early. he did that several days ago. vice president biden will eventually join president obama later today to watch the election returns. savannah, the president has an election day tradition which is to play a game of basketball with his closest friends and advisers, and i'm told he's hoping to fit that tradition in today. savannah? >> kristen welker in chicago, thanks. this race is expected to be determined by the slimmest of martins. chuck todd is nbc's political director and chief white house correspondent, and this morning he's mapping out what he calls the nightmare scenario that could drag the election into the days and weeks ahead. chuck, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. >> yesterday i promised you could show us what would happen in the teeny tiny possibility that there is that we'd have a 269-269 tie. >> reporter: let me show you how possible it is. all the president has to do is

carry pennsylvania, ohio, new hampshire and wisconsin, and then you put iowa, florida, north carolina, virginia, colorado and the tiny state of nevada in mitt romney's column, and that's how you get it. it's not very implausible, and, yes, we know that right now the president seems like a favorite in nevada, and that's what makes this less likely than what most folks think, but between that and don't forget you've got congressional districts in nebraska and maine. the point is if you remember how we started this campaign which was the state of iowa decided by eight votes between rick santorum and mitt romney and then oh, by the way the results flipped two weeks later, i've always worried that that was foreshadowing this nightmare scenario. >> as you talk to us, chuck, i want to note that vice president biden is waiting in line to vote in delaware this morning. we'll keep an eye on that as you

and i continue to talk. >> reporter: speaking of vice president biden. under this scenario and people are wondering if you don't get to 270, this would go to the house, so the house would elect the president. the senate would elect the vice president, so under this scenario your most likely outcome romney/biden. >> then we'll know we're in an alternate reality. chuck, let's move on to florida. if it came down to florida being the deciding state, how might that play how the? >> well, here's the issue with florida right now, and this has to do with election challenges, and i'll just put it here to center it up a little bit. there were two big issues in the state of florida this year that came up. one is in palm beach county where 60,000 absentee ballots were mailed out with a misaligned ballot. it had to do with judges this. isn't like the butterfly ballot from 2000 and about the presidential. it's about another election, and if you fed it in the wrong way into the machine, the entire ballot would be a provisional, and i cite this number, 60,000. they think they have fixed it, but if florida is decided by

less than 60,000 votes, you could see, and it's palm beach county, particularly if it's the president that's behind, could you see a legitimate election challenge to a court that says, hey, wait a minute, count these votes. they also changed the rule about absentee ballots and signatures, and if your signature doesn't match, they put you in a provisional column. they had a 3% signature not matching rate in the first election that they did this in in orlando. it could create a lot of problems. >> i know ohio is potentially a tight one, too. we'll talk about that a bit later on. we want to take a turn now and check in with robert gibbs, a senior adviser to president barack obama's re-election campaign. good morning to you. >> good morning, savannah. how are you? >> good, thank you. governor romney is campaigning in ohio and pennsylvania and president obama is not out campaigning today, though he did on election day four years ago. is that a sign of confidence or perhaps overconfidence? >> no. i think we felt the president would have a better reach to sit here and do some satellite

interviews into states and make sure that the folks that we have out getting out our vote in important states aren't burdened by having to support him coming into their state today, so i think we feel like we've got a great opportunity for the president to speak with still undecided voters in those nine battleground states today. >> let's look back at the campaign that was. it is undeniable, a key part of the obama campaign strategy was to discredit and disqualify governor romney from the outset. 85% of the president's ads were negative as of late october. for a president that was voted in four years ago on the promise of a new kind of politics, did he turn to the old kind of politics to win a second term? >> no, savannah. i think each election is a choice. it's a choice between two very different and competing visions, and i think we wanted to make sure that the american people understood the president's vision of continuing to build this economy from the middle out, and governor romney's vision of tax cuts showered on the wealthy in hopes that somehow that would lift the

middle class despite the fact that that was what was exactly got us into this economic calamity. >> for people going to the polls today, people who are considering re-hiring the president for four more years, there is a feeling that they want changes. in fact, our recent poll had 62% of americans saying they want major changes in a second term, even voters who support the president want to see that he has learned something and knows where to improvement can you tell us where exactly he would plan to be -- to improve in a second term. >> well, look, i think we've still got a lot of work to do obviously to get our economy moving, continue to move this economy in a forward direction. we've seen positive job, you know, 32 consecutive months. but, look, we've got more work to do. we've got to bring more jobs back overseas and manufacturing jobs. >> is there something he's personally learned about the job? >> oh, look, i think -- look, he learns things every day, savannah. i think he's got to -- look, i think one of the things that

each side is going to have to do is work together in order to get things done. we've got to break this washington gridlock. we've got to break this notion that somehow, you know, particularly on the republican side in congress that, you know, compromise is a dirty word or somehow if they don't get everything they want they can't work at all with this president. i think the president is eager to sit down and solve problems with democrats and republicans and move this country forward. >> robert gibbs, we're out of time. got to leave it there. thank you for being with us this morning. >> thanks for having me. >> and now here's matt. >> savannah, thanks. ed gillespie, is senior advisers to mitt romney's campaign. ed, good morning. good to see you. happy election day. >> good morning, matt, happy that it is election day. >> exactly. this has been a six-year quest for governor romney. i'm sure the campaign and the candidate have crosses the ts and dotted the is and talked about every possible scenario. ed, what kept you awake last

night? what are you most worried about? >> actually i slept pretty well last night. we feel really good. we have momentum at the end of th campaign. governor romney's positive, uplifting message has resonated i think. his plan to turn around our economy and create 12 million new jobs. we see incredible intensity on the part of our voters, and we're leaving nothing on the field, matt. you'll see the governor out there today campaigning in cleveland, ohio and pittsburgh, pennsylvania, and we're -- we're looking forward to tonight. >> let me ask you about ohio. you talk about that state. obviously all eyes on ohio. back on october 25th the governor employed a rather dramatic strategy there talking to supporters he said that he had read that, quote, jeep is thinking of moving all production to china. he followed that with some ads that talked about chrysler and gm's plans to expand production in china. the reaction was swift and unanimous, ed. they were painted as misleading by independent fact-checkers.

ohio newspapers said they were an exercise in deception, a masterpiece of misdirection, and chrysler and gm called them inaccurate and campaign politics at its cynical worst. how could this happen to the guy who is the son of a car-maker and the car who is supposed to have the business resume? >> well, matt, the fact is the ad is accurate. the head of fiat came out and said that they were going to open production in china for jeep. that's what the ad says, and that's accurate. look, if you care about the auto industry, you need to vote for mitt romney and the governor has a great record. >> they are opening production for jeep in china because they are expanding markets, not because they are shipping jobs overseas which seemed to be the message of the ad. >> no, that's not the message. the message of the ad is they are opening production in china. right now the jeeps that are

sold in china are made in the united states. there was an original bloomberg report that said that they were going to close the plant and shift jobs to china. that turned out not to be accurate but they said they would open jobs in -- open production in china. we're currently shipping to china from the u.s. exporting there. this ad is accurate, and the fact is if you care about the auto industry, you care about creating 12 million jobs in this economy, you care about creating demand for domestic auto production, we don't have that in our economy today, matt, and governor romney would turn this economy around, have rising incomes for people who have seen their incomes drop by $4,300 over the course of the obama presidency. that would do more for the american auto industry than anything, but ad is accurate, and we stand by it. we know that the truth hurts sometimes, but it's the truth. >> real quickly on election day, often candidates get nostalgic and sentimental about the things they have seen as they traveled the country over the last year. what do you think governor romney's major takeaway is going

to be? what are the images that are going to last most for him? >> i think a number of them. one, small business owners who have told him that they are going to have to close, family businesses. one woman in richmond, virginia, has closed a restaurant that has been in her family for 82 years as a result of the excessive regulations and taxes and obama care and the obama economy, single mothers who have come up to him and said i'm working two jobs because the pay, i can't get a full-time job and the pay for these jobs is so low. we've heard from countless americans, and it's -- the pain that you hear out there in our economy is real, matt, and it's something that he is so anxious to get into the white house, turn things around and fix the economy and get rising incomes for people so they can have a sense of economic security. >> all right. ed gillespie, a senior adviser to the romney campaign. going to be a long day, ed. thank you for your time this

morning. >> we want to take a turn and show you a live picture. this is greenville, delaware, where the vice president is now entering the voting booth. his wife, dr. jill biden, is also there in line with him as they vote. i should tell you that governor romney is expected to vote at 8:30 this morning. he'll do so in belmont, massachusetts. congressman paul ryan will cast his vote in his home town of janesville, wisconsin at 9:45 eastern, and as we know, matt, president obama cast his vote early in chicago last week. i guess it's just that fast. >> we saw the vice president in line earlier. imagine the pressure on the woman in front of him online as they were standing there discussing the vote today. i wonder if she was completely honest with the vice president. >> well, we're going to have more on the election throughout this morning. we want to remind everybody that nbc's election night coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. eastern. that's 4:00 pacific time right here on nbc. >> let's get to the other headlines of the morning. natalie is across the street at the news desk. natalie, good morning to you. >> good morning, matt and

savannah. good morning, everyone. more than 1 million homes and businesses are still in the dark today as new york and new jersey struggle to recover an superstorm sandy. this as dropping temperatures and a new storm bear down on the region. a nor'easter is set to slam the area on wednesday. meantime today, state officials are working to ease the voting process for displaced people, allowing voters in emergency zones to use any polling station they can access. prosecutors at joint base louis mccord say sergeant robert bales went on a killing spree in two afghan villages last march, after drinking with soldiers, watching movies about revenge killings and discussing a friend who lost a leg in a recent attack. he's accused of carrying out one of the worst war atrocities in the last 16 years and faces 16 counts of pre-meditated murder. the 39-year-old has not entered a plea, but attorneys say he has post-traumatic stress disorder. for the first time video was shown of bales surrendering, taken by surveillance. now let's head to wall

street. cnbc's mandy drury is at the new york stock exchange. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. with this nail-biter of an election the markets will watch which sectors would most benefit. stocks doing weather with romney in the white house have been outperforming but yesterday there was selling in sectors if president obama remains in office, including banks, because he's tougher on bank regulations. >> mandy drury, thanks. a rough landing in texas caught on tape. a student pilot trying to touch down at a local airport clipped the top of an suv driving on a road near the runway. the driver and his passengers suffered only minor injuries. the pilot, meanwhile, was not harmed. the faa is now investigating the incident. all very lucky though. it is 7:21 right now. let's go back over to matt and savannah and al at democracy plaza. >> going to leave a mark, no question. natalie, thanks very much. hello, mr. roker.

>> hey there, hey there. talking about this nor'easter, an hopefully it's moving a li nor'easter. maybe it's moving further east. strong winds developing, bands of rain, large waves, coastal flooding. storm surge two to four feet up into new england. windy conditions as well. coastal wind gusts 50 to 60 miles per hour. cold air coming in. we are looking at snow from caribou, maine including new york, parts of long island into philadelphia. more details coming up. that's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> reporter: good morning, around the region, we have a cold start this morning. most of the area, we are below freezing. we have temperatures down into the 20s. this is the first widespread freeze of the season. thankfully, we have a calm wind. around the region, temperatures climbing into the 40s with lots of sunshine. great voting weather. the coastal storm brushing by to the east. areas i-95 east may get rain,

wind and snow >> and that's your latest weather. savannah. >> all right, al. thank you. just ahead, much more from democracy plaza. jenna bush hager talks about the surprising thing her mom did while waiting for the anncr: five hundred and thirty seven. the number of votes that changed the course of american history. newscaster: florida is too close to call... anncr: the difference between what was... and what could have been. so this year, if you're thinking that your vote doesn't count. that it won't matter. well, back then, there were probably at least 537 people...

who felt the same way. make your voice heard. vote. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message.

. it's not just about the white house. some other key races to watch today. >> after your local news.

7:26 on this election day 2012. ireem aaron gilchrist. in the news, it's decision time for everyone around the country. the polls open in the dis riblgt, maryland and virginia. the polls close at 7:00. d.c. and maryland opened at 7:00 this morning and will close atd

subfreezing start around the region this morning. we have sunshine, but temperatures in the 20s most regions. most places upper 40s. a lot of sunshine with wind. the coastal storm looks like it's tracking farthest east. may have rain snow tomorrow. danella, how is traffic? >> along 395 northbound at duke, you are heavy on the brakes.

the drive will take you 20 minutes. aaron, over to you. >> thank you. we are working for you on this election day. check out the voting guide on www.nbcwashington.com. stay with news 4 and nbc news fo charlie rose: will you endorse president obama? colin powell: yes. when he took over we were in one of the... worst recessions we had seen in recent times... close to a depression. and i saw, over the next several years, stabilization... come back in the financial community. housing is starting to pick up. the president saved the auto industry. and the actions he's taken with respect to... protecting us from terrorism have been very, very solid. and so, i think we ought to keep on the track that we are on. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message.

. it is 7:30 now on a tuesday morning, november 6th, 2012. that makes it election day, and as you look down at democracy plaza we urge you to get out and vote. whatever time of the day you can. polls are open in many states already. they will continue to open as the time moves out west, and, again, expecting hopefully good turnouts, though a lot of people in the east worried about the aftermath of hurricane sandy and how that might impact voter turnout. at democracy plaza, i'm matt lauer alongside savannah guthrie and just ahead we go live to four critical swing states that will go a long way towards

deciding who will win this presidential race. colorado, and as chuck calls them flova, florida, ohio and virginia. >> rolls off the tongue. the most influential group of voters today are women. will they turn out in record numbers? what are the issues on their mind? both campaigns have worked hard to woo women. we'll get into that. >> and the other major battle at the polls today, republicans trying to get control of the senate from the democrats. coming up, the high-profile rations that are too close to call as voters begin casting their ballots. >> but we begin this half hour with the all-important battleground states in the presidential race. to get a sense of how important and influential they are and how much more focused these states have gotten, we found an animation from npr and that tells the story. this is what the electoral map looks like, how it shock out in 2008, but here's how it looks if you take the states with the states with the most electoral votes larger. >> that's not the country i grew

up knowing. >> and here's what it's really telling. if you resize the states depending on how much money the campaigns spent on this campaign. it looks something like this. i hope ohio, florida, virginia, colorado jumping more off the page. let's talk more about that starting with nbc's john yang in cincinnati, ohio. john, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. voting under way here in this battleground state, in this battleground county in the battleground state. ohio has picked the winner in every election since 1964. no republican has won the white house without it. already about 1.8 million votes have been cast in early balloting. those ballots will be the first to be counted tonight. it should give us a good idea of how the turnout effort on both sides has been going. matt? >> all right. john yang, i'll take it, and we want to head now to florida and nbc's kerry sanders in orlando along the all-important i-4 corridor, an area expected to determine who wins the state. kerry, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning,

savannah. polls open here at 7:00 a.m. don't forget there are two time zones in florida. supervisors of election in the state say anyone in line at 7:00 p.m. and who has not yet voted will still be allowed to cast their vote. so far because of early voting there's been a tremendous turnout already in the state, 4.5 million people have voted in the state. here's the breakdown. 1.9 million registered democrats. 1.7 million registered republicans, but remember, of course, that doesn't mean they necessarily voted the party ticket. one issue that resonates, especially in south florida is the question of israel. jewish voters traditionally are registered as democrats, but rabbis have been asking questions it their congregations about the president's commitment to israel. florida has the second largest jewish population outside of new york. there are 12 million registered voters in florida. both campaigns have spent a record $192 million to try to win their votes. the prize here, 29 electoral votes.

savannah? >> kerry sanders, thank you. >> all right. let's go to colorado now. nine electoral votes up for grabs in that state and nbc's kristen dahlgren is in centennial this morning. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. the candidates have been here dozens of times over the past few months. president obama won colorado by 9% back in 2008, but this could be a very different story. all of the polls within the margin of error. now, most coloradoans have already voted in early voting. we can't tell you the count, but we can tell you the breakdown, that is 37% of voters so far have been republican, about 35% have been democrats, and that leaves some 28% with no party affiliation, so this could come down to those voters and who they choose, and also who the different sides can get out in their core base today. polls open here at 7:00 a.m. mountain time, and they have made contingency plans to keep the election offices staffed late into the night if the count goes late tonight. matt? >> all right.

kristen dahlgren in colorado, thank you. >> and last but not least the battleground state of virginia. let's go to nbc's tom costello. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. what was heartening was to see people lined up here at 3:30 in the morning when it was dark, and they were here at 6:00 in the morning when the polls finally opened. we had 600 people or so in line. we can tell you virginia and its 13 electoral votes are critical, and this county is going to be a key county to watch, henrico as well as the northern virginia counties in fairfax, louden and also prince william. i also want to show you how important the state is because yesterday we had last-minute visits again by vice president biden and also by governor romney. in total the candidates have made more than 90 trips here to virginia. this state used to be reliably republican, and then it voted for obama in '08. it has been purple ever since, voting for a republican governor, and right now the polls have a single point spread between president obama and

governor romney with obama ahead. how will the state turn out? it may be a nail-biter. guys, back to you. >> a lot of eyes on virginia tonight. tom costello, thank you. >> interesting little tour of the country there. let's get a check of the weather on election day now from al. >> and we're down here on our prometheus stage and tamron hall is going to be down here, and she's got this touch screen. it's like what if, and can do all kind of neat things and then we're out over here, and here's, of course, prometheus. i can see matt and savannah, the back of their heads over there, so that's a great view as well. let's take a look and show you what we've got going on. as far and show you what's going on. we have a system making its way across the upper midwest, northern minnesota, rain and snow. i's going to be chilly. wisconsin, a big swing state. let's take a look and show you what we have.

we are looking at whinelander, green bay, milwaukee, 43 degrees, o claire, wisconsin, 35. des moines, iowa, breezy. davenport 47 and morning that's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. the coldest morning of the season so far. subfreezing temperatures around the region except near the water. we are going to stay here below freezing for another hour or so. by the noon hour, mid to upper 40 z by mid afternoon with sunshine. we have a light wind for the day today. tomorrow, the coastal storm coming close enough to bring rain and snow east of i-95. it looks like not much accumulation of snow on the >> that's your latest weather. great being here. i want to get up on that thing. i want to get up on that and just kind of come sliding across democracy plaza. how great would that be, savannah? >> yeah do, that. definitely do that, al. we'll check back with you in a

moment. >> okay. all right. coming up next, critical senate races across the country to keep an eye on today, but first these messages. ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ girl ] hey! [ both laugh ] ♪ ♪ spread a little love my way [ female announcer ] philadelphia cooking creme. a simple way to make dinner fresh and new again. creamy philadelphia along with savory herbs and spices. just stir it in. ♪ now it only takes a moment to make the moment. ♪ spread a little joy and see ♪ need a little happiness to be ♪ ♪ living the life with me ♪

♪ living the life with me everyone's getting into the spirit.

celebrate the holidays with savings at petsmart. save 20% on hundreds of items and save up to 20% on all nylabone® dog toys in the toy chest aisle. at petsmart®. a wiit takes some doing.n't just happen. some coordinating. and a trip to the one place with the new ideas that help us pull it all together. from the things that hang and shine... ...to the things that sparkle and jingle. all while saving the things that go in our wallet. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. trade in any light string and get up to five bucks off the latest holiday leds. as we are back now at 7:41 with more of our election day coverage and today on the trail.

the presidential race, as you know, is not the only big decision facing voters today. the balance of power on capitol hill is also at stake. nbc's capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell is in columbus, ohio with a look at some of the country's key senate races. kelly, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, matt. we're in franklin county where four precincts are casting their balance here and whether voters give president obama a second term or send mitt romney to the white house either man's fate is tied to power on capitol hill and especially which party will control the senate, and that battle has been fierce. massachusetts is the main event in a party tug-of-war. a staggering $76 million spent. >> good to see you guys, thank you for coming out. >> reporter: republican senator scott brown is widely considered popular and gets credit for working with democrats, but he's at risk. >> it's nice to meet you. >> you have my vote. >> reporter: pressure is on democrat elizabeth warren, a first-time candidate, former

obama administration official and harvard law professor to block republicans from taking enough seats to be in charge. >> a republican controlled senate is a senate bad for massachusetts and bad for this country. >> want to talk about gridlock, imagine when professor warren is down there. that's what people tell me. >> reporter: republicans expect to pick up seats held by retiring democrats in north dakota and nebraska but could lose a seat in maine after olimpia snowe bowed out. >> the fight over the senate is a very big deal, and it has not gone very well over the last few months for the republicans. >> reporter: that's because republicans were counting on red state candidates that turned into long shots. in missouri republican todd akin refused to quit after his comments about rape and pregnancy angered many women and fellow republicans. >> thank you very much. and, you know, i believe we have. we've had a few knocks. it's been turbulent flying, you might say. >> reporter: so once vulnerable

missouri democrat claire mcaskill is favored to keep her seat and in indiana republican richard mourdock saw his poll numbers say after saying god intended pregnancies that resulted from rape. former wrestling executive linda mcmahon has spent tens of millions of her own money trying to turn a connecticut seat for republicans. in wisconsin democrat tammy baldwin could become the first openly gay senator, up again former governor tommy thompson, and the most expensive senate race is in virginia, at $82 million. two former governors with democrat tim kaine polling ahead of republican george allen. and there are 33 senate races around the country, including one here in ohio, and republicans would need to pick up three or four seats to get control. democrats are expected to be able to hold on. in the house of representatives democrats would need to pick up

25 seats, so there is less suspense there. republicans are expected to keep control of the house of representatives. matt? >> all right, kelly o'donnell, thank you very much. david gregory is moderator of "meet the press" and steve schmitt is a former senior adviser to former candidate john mccain's campaign and taffies smiley joins us from pbs and dede myers, president clinton's former white house press secretary. good morning. happy election day. show of hands right now. raise your hand if when this matchup became clear this months ago that it would be president obama and governor romney, you thought we'd be sitting on election day with a dead heat on your hands. raise your hand if you thought that was the case. >> no? >> you did. >> you really thought it would be this close? >> i think the country is simply too polarized for it not to be. >> dede why do you think we got to the dead heat, sitting here today with this too close to call? >> i think david is right. the country is extremely polarized, and we always knew it

would be a close race. first time in a long time we've been sitting here on election day really not knowing what's going to happen. i think both candidates have strengths and both have weaknesses. you have a tough economy. you have a candidate in mitt romney who didn't define himself early enough and allowed president obama and his team to define him. strengths and weaknesses on both side but on election day i'd rather be arguing the metrics of turnout than the idea of momentum which the romney people are doing, even though we have no idea what's going to happen today. >> just quickly, you two didn't raise your hands. you thought this was going to be a route. >> i think there's two types of elections, change elections and stay the course, and i thought that it would have broken one way or the other before we got to today. >> taffies. >> i thought it would be close but not too close to call. both guys at one point had enthusiasm gaps on their phalanx. the president had an enthusiasm gap on his left flank and mr. romney with enthusiasm gap on the right flank. i knew the race would tighten up but didn't think it would be this close. >> steve, i'm giving you a charge.

you're in charge of the transportation operation for the romney campaign. who are you sending cars for this morning? who is the most important group to get out to vote for governor romney today? >> mitt romney needs to close the gap he has with white voters in ohio, and he needs to make sure that there's not a gender gap of 12, 13 points with women in places like virginia, ohio, new hampshire. >> taffies, you're in charge of the carpool for the obama campaign, who must you pick up and get to the polls. >> i would hate tomorrow morning for the president to wake up and found that he lost the election by the margin of black absence at the polls. when the race is this tight the base has to turn out. the african-americans who do go to vote, will vote for him. will that turnout be what it was off the charts four years ago. >> to add to that, it's not just african-americans, it's younger voters and latinos. the president has said if i get a second term, it will likely be because republicans didn't pay enough attention to latinos.

mitt romney has said if they don't improve standing among latinos we are doomed, his words, and the margins are huge right now for obama's advantage over romney among latinos. >> dee dee, talk to me about the role women will play in deciding this race. >> right. most undecided voters at this point are women, and women are breaking strongly for the president as they traditionally have. more importantly, 10 million more women will vote than men today so that is where the presidents is. i would look at single women in particular. they tend to be more undecided and tend to break heavily for president obama, and i think that's where this race in many ways will be decided. >> steve, oftentimes the day after an elects pundits sit around and the losing party they look at and say they have to start from scratch and rethink everything. which party stands to suffer the most long-term damage if they lose today. >> well, if the republicans lose, there's going to be a civil war that breaks out in the republican party. think about this. the last republican candidate

who got over 60% of the white vote, george herbert walker bush, over 400 electoral votes. mitt romney is going to get 60% of the white vote, that same margin. he's either going to win narrowly or lose the election. the country has changed fundamentally. we were at over 40% of the hispanic bush with george w. bush in 2004, and we're not able to get to 30% in this election and that's startling. >> the gop is toast in the most multi-cultural, multiracial and multi-ethnic america. they may win tomorrow but not long term. >> i started it with a show of hands. raise your hand if you think we will know who wins this race by the time we go to bed, and when i say go to bed, i don't mean the time you go to bed, 10:00, tonight when americans go to bed tonight, will we know who wins this race. if so, raise your hand. >> i don't think so. >> dee dee, you said yes. >> i think it all comes down to virginia. if the president wins virginia it's pretty much all over.

there's no realistic path for romney without virginia. >> all right. as i mentioned, you guys will be going to bed at about 10:00 tomorrow morning. good luck. >> all right. >> thank you. >> going to be a big day. david gregory, steve schmitt, tavis smiley and dee dee myers. the top campaign moments that became a little bit of fodder online, but first these messages. about really committing to making a difference in the amount of gas that we use. she was using 8 to 10 tankfuls. i was using 5 tankfuls. now i use one tankful a month, and she may use about two. it drives like a sports car. it handles very well. people are a little surprised that a hybrid zipped by them the way that i do. [ male announcer ] see phil's story and more at the camry effect. camry from toyota.

and these come together, one thing you can depend on is that these will come together. delicious and wholesome. some combinations were just meant to be. tomato soup from campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. we're spreading the word about honey bunches of oatss. fruit blends and their unique taste combinations. like peach/raspberry. with one flavor in the granola bunch and one on the flake.

two flavors. in harmony. honey bunches of oats. make your day bunches better. hurry up or we'll miss the bus! come on! ♪ whatcha got there, richard? they're for show & tell. wasn't that yesterday? yup, but the class wants me to do it again. [ male announcer ] tim and richard smucker learned early on just how irresistible their jam really is. so how'd it go today, richard? i shoulda brought more. [ male announcer ] for five generations,

with a name like smucker's, it has to be good. just ahead, first daughter jenna bush hager reflects on her father's close presidential races. >> but first your local news. ex. make life better. brighten our days. ♪ at jcp, we don't want to be another store. we want to be your favorite store. we're creating a whole new way to shop for the brands you love. at values you can believe in. jcp has a bold new look that will look even better on you. ♪ and eddy said the toys might not be ready! eddy? the elf! ♪ [ radio announcer ] today's forecast: it's snowing snowballs and snow bricks out there... seven more days and it's snowing snow bricks! oh, well, be careful!

[ radio announcer ] only two days to go, and several of the elves were tossed around when they tried to wrap a pony. [ female announcer ] the keepsake countdown ornament. build anticipation every day till christmas. elves tried to wrap a pony!

is efficiently absorbed in small continuous amounts. citracal slow release continuously releases calcium plus d with efficient absorption in one daily dose. citracal slow release.

7:56 is your time now on this election day, tuesday november 6th, 2012. the virginia polls opened at 6:00 a.m. there was a long line of people outside this center. maryland and the district are open now as well. tom kierein with a look at the forecast. cold again, tom. >> yeah, coldest morning of the season. sub freezing everywhere except the water. later today, with the sunshine into the 40s and the light wind, clouding up tonight. tomorrow, a coastal storm may give rain and snow to the area points east. wind tomorrow night. >> thank you. your traffic is up next. stay with us.

good morning. taking the beltway, the inner loop is clear. outer loop is sluggish. you are under speed at 34 miles per hour. 16 minutes from i-95 to i-270. the inner loop into virginia is slow. >> thank you. news 4 is working for you. before you vote, see our voting guide on www.nbcwashington.com. stay with us for the late es results.

8:00 now on this tuesday morning, the 6th of november, 2012. election day across the country. got a lot of nice folks on the plaza this morning. we hope you get out there and vote. if you're in the northeast, bundle up when you do. just 34 degrees now here on deplaza. good morning, everyone. i'm savannah guthrie alongside matt lauer. just ahead, the group that could sway this election, women, particularly unmarried women. both president obama and governor romney spent a lot of time courting their votes, so who made the stronger case with that influential voting bloc? we'll get into that. >> then a woman who knows a thing or two about very close

presidential campaigns. we're going to talk to jenna bush hager about her family's campaign night experiences, and remember while a lot of us look at this as politics the candidates and their families look at this as personal. it impacts their lives dramatically. we'll talk to jenna about that. >> nice to get a perspective. from big bird to bayonets, the moment that caught fire online during this campaign season. >> but first a check of this morning's top stories with natalie morales over at the news desk. good morning. >> good morning, everyone. it is decision day as voters nationwide cast their presidential ballots. president obama wiped away a tear at his final campaign event in des moines iowa appearing at the rally with first lady michelle obama and rocker bruce springsteen. republican challenger mitt romney is keeping his campaign in full swing today as he heads to ohio and pennsylvania to make his final pitch. meantime in the first town to vote on election day, an unprecedented tie. the residents of dixville notch,

new hampshire cast five votes each for president obama and mitt romney, and you can catch all of your nbc election night coverage live from democracy plaza tonight at 7:00 p.m. eastern time, 4:00 p.m. pacific. a new storm threatening for tomorrow could increase the misery of east coast residents still recovering from hurricane sandy. about 1 million homes and businesses remained without power overnight as falling temperatures in the area reached the freezing mark. there is a potential breakthrough in using stem cells to help survivors of heart attacks. in a study of 30 patients in miami and baltimore, researchers said stem cells donated by strangers proved as safe and effective as the patient's own cells this. suggests that stem cells might be banked for off-the-shelf use after heart attacks similar to the way blood is now stored. the american arm of suzuki has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and is leaving the car business. the california-based company says it will eventually focus on

selling suzuki motorcycles and boat engines. the japan-based arm of the company will not be impacted by the american group's restructuring. for a look at what's trending, our quick roundup what have has you talking online. actor and chanel pitch man brad pitt is turning his talents to furniture, pieces he co-designed including a bed and a cossey chair will debut this month in new york. pitt traces his knack for design to his love of architecture which he explored in college so he could apparently get out of french class. this vintage video of tom hanks shows the oscar winner prepping for his role as a stand-up comic in the 1988 film "punchline." hanks took the stage at the come instrip to rip at the time what was sylvester stallone's new arm wrestling movie over the top. >> arm wrestling competition. do you think stallone wins the competition by any chance? is this the most exciting thing to make a movie about, arm

wrestling? >> for the record, neither film set the box office on fire. and late night host jimmy fallon let his dog derry take a shot last night at predicting the outcome of today's election. >> she may not be voting for the same person that i am, by the way. in my family everybody gets their say, every vote counts except for derry. as of 2012, dogs are not allowed to vote. >> go. >> mitt romney. >> you must have not heard the story about romney tying his dog to the roof, but that's left. >> what a cute dog. jimmy jokes that he'll have the dog back for the recount. i guess it's a girl. let's go back out to al with a check of the weather. hey, al. >> all right. let's see what we've got for you. first of you. first of all, starting out, we are talking down in the southeast, florida.

florida, florida, florida may see heavier showers and thunderstorms forecast. it's on the wet side. tampa, 76. naples, 72. as we head up into the carolinas and virginia, we have basically afternoon showers. otherwise, looking good throughout much of virginia. as we look and see what's going on as far as the nor'easter is concerned, it's making its way up the coast. rain in the pacific northwest. sunny and hot with temperatures into the mid to upper 80s in southern california. mid to lower 90s through southern new mexico and on into parts of arizona. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> cold sunshine on this election day morning. we are below freezing. overall, dry and good election day weather here for west virginia, maryland, virginia, delaware. we will have temperatures climbing into the 40s all over the region.

a light wind, thankfully. tomorrow, cloudy. might get rain and snow mainly east of i-95. any snow that falls will likely melt on roadways. a light accumulation on grassy >> and that's your latest weather. matt? >> all right, al, thank you very much. coming up next, the power of the woman's vote in 2012. will they decide who wins tonight? and jenna bush hager tells us about something unusual that her mother, former first lady laura bush did on election night 2000. hmm. right after this. if you are one of the millions of men who have used androgel 1%, there's big news. presenting androgel 1.62%. both are used to treat men with low testosterone. androgel 1.62% is from the makers of the number one prescribed testosterone replacement therapy. it raises your testosterone levels, and... is concentrated, so you could use less gel.

and with androgel 1.62%, you can save on your monthly prescription. [ male announcer ] dosing and application sites between these products differ. women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or, signs in a woman which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in acne, possibly due to accidental exposure. men with breast cancer or who have or might have prostate cancer, and women who are, or may become pregnant or are breast feeding should not use androgel. serious side effects include worsening of an enlarged prostate, possible increased risk of prostate cancer, lower sperm count, swelling of ankles, feet, or body, enlarged or painful breasts, problems breathing during sleep, and blood clots in the legs. tell your doctor about your medical conditions and medications, especially insulin, corticosteroids, or medicines to decrease blood clotting. talk to your doctor today about androgel 1.62% so you can use less gel. log on now to androgeloffer.com and you could pay as little as ten dollars a month

for androgel 1.62%. what are you waiting for? this is big news.

donuts? ♪ you're cute. [ door closes ] [ female announcer ] new special k protein cereal helps keep you fuller longer. willpower. what will you gain when you lose?

that's been wrapped in a flaky crust stuffed with a gooey center toasted up all golden brown then given a delicious design? a toaster strudel. pillsbury toaster strudel. so delicious...so fun. back now at 8:10 with more of "today on the trail." women voters could hold the key to deciding today's presidential

race so what is driving them to the polls. the co-hosts of msnbc's "the cycle" joins us now. >> good morning, savannah. >> looking far to you battling it out in a few seconds. let's talk about the women's vote generally. seen both campaigns bend over backwards to woot women vote, whether it's in their ads, their speeches, we can all remember an romney saying i love you women at the republican convention. why is it a potentially decisive bloc of voters. >> typically because men outnumber the men at the polls. just in terms of the math it makes sense to go after women and there's a sense that women are up for grabs. they have been dissatisfied and unhappy with the progress on the economy and on the other hand upset with big extremism on the republican social issues. there's a battle there, and both sides are trying to get their message across. >> break it down further, s.e., unmarried women who are potentially the swing voters in this election. what does governor romney need to do to close the gap with them? >> too late, election day.

actually, i mean, as much as i agree that women are a valuable part of the electorate i don't think either side has really done a good job of courting women. i think on the left democrats have reduced women to reproductive rights and on the right i don't think romney has explained in great detail what his economic policies are and neither have began out of their way to address the issue which most women care about which is tax reform. i'm a small business owner. i'm a woman. i may have a family one day. would i love the tax system to be a little bit more simple, and neither candidate really talked about what they would do in terms of -- outside of expanding the bush tax cuts or not. >> how do you explain the fact that governor romney has made up some ground with women in our most recent polling? >> well, you know, i think when the gap was at the widest it was because actually democrats were talking a lot about things like the lilly ledbetter fair pay act. they were talking about women's health issues which are important to a lot of women, and that's not -- that's not reducing them down just to

reproductive rights, but that is an important issue that women are concerned about. during the debates, romney went above and beyond to portray himself as reasonable, as moderate, as someone what you shouldn't be scared of, who is not extreme. there wasn't a lot of talk about lilly ledbetter and the fair pay act and not a lot of talk about things like defunding planned parenthood, personhood amendments which are seen as very extreme so because he made that rhetorical shift to the center, i think women started to feel a bit more comfortable. >> s.e., you say they haven't really addressed women's issues and it's not all about reproductive rights, not the only women's issue but do you think some of the inpolitic remarks coming out of republican senate candidates have hurt the republican cause and potentially mitt romney in. >> absolutely. they were crazy statements, and democrats were very good at spinning them to make them look like representative of the party and representative of the presidential candidate, and they are not, of course, but then that put mitt romney and other

republicans into damage control mode. they suddenly had to speak for todd akin and mourdock and explain them away and provide some nuance to their -- to their statements. >> well, in actuality, while todd akin and his bizarre comments are not representative of the republican mainstream, the position on abortion, no abortion, no exceptions, even in the case of rain and incest, that is the republican party platform, and paul ryan in fact co-sponsored legislation with todd akin to redefine rape so to say it's totally -- >> not mitt romney's platform so it put mitt romney in a position to say that's not what i believe and now i have to explain for this guy and my party and tell you what i would do differently. it was a heavy lift for him. >> crystal and s.e.cupp who just prove the point just because you agree you don't agree politically. >> thank you very much. >> once again, yocoming up, whas

it like during a close election cycle? coming up, jenna bush hager. kept its dna, and created the next-gen s.u.v. starting with a drivetrain that gives best-in-class fuel economy of 26 miles per gallon, highway... ♪ ...and intuitive 4-wheel drive? ♪ if inside it had best-in-class front, head, and leg room and interior roominess? and outside, best-in-class standard towing of 5,000 pounds? ♪ [ whistles ] [ all scream, laugh ] [ male announcer ] yeah, that would be cool. introducing the all-new nissan pathfinder. it's our most innovative pathfinder ever. nissan. innovation that excites. ♪

[ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat? campbell's healthy request soup lets you hear it... in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. great taste. mmm... [ male announcer ] sounds good. it's amazing what soup can do. [ male announcer ] sounds good. everyone's getting into the spirit. celebrate the holidays with savings at petsmart. save 20% on hundreds of items and save up to 20% on all nylabone® dog toys in the toy chest aisle. at petsmart®.

in america today we're running to compete on the global stage. what we need are people prepared for the careers of our new economy. by 2025, we could have 20 million jobs without enough college graduates to fill them. that's why at devry university, we're teaming up with companies like cisco to help make sure everyone's ready with the know how we need for a new tomorrow. [ male announcer ] make sure america's ready. make sure you're ready. at devry.edu/knowhow. ♪ onof chocolate lovers from the thmelting point of chocolate. so when you take hershey's chocolate and add bubbles, it deliciously melts the moment you take a bite. hershey's air delight. it just might make you melt. 8:18. we are back on democracy plaza on election day 2012.

tod "today" contributing correspondent jenna bush hager is no stranger to the hustle and bustle of campaigning. we'll talk to her about her experience as a candidate's daughter and this time she hit the trail as a reporter. >> not the real campaign trail. the non-stop campaigning has come to an end and we decided to how all things american politics trickled down to what's not in the spotlight. we went to the future politicians to get the answers. >> hold on a second. >> mr. president, i'm still speaking. >> reporter: in this election of contentious debates. >> you're wrong, mr. president. >> no, i'm not. >> reporter: stump speeches. >> we'll finish what we started. >> we're taking back this country. >> reporter: and constant campaigning we decided to go straight to the source, the political hot bed of, well, middle school. eighth graders maliki and tyler holder this fall hitting the trail. >> it was a lot of pressure because everyone wanted to have

that position, so it was like we were fighting for it. >> reporter: and after a grueling campaign these two newly elected officials worked to deliver the changes they promised. good school lunches. >> pro. >> reporter: school trips. >> pro. >> reporter: a lot of homework. >> against. >> yeah, against. >> reporter: school dances? >> pro. >> i am honored and privileged to address you today. >> reporter: just like other politicians. >> to be the best should be our ambition. >> reporter: this duo set the bar high. >> academically and the way the school looks and maybe more events for little kids, maybe more trips. >> i like pbs, i love big bird. >> reporter: with big bird taking a surprise guest starring role in this year's presidential election, we headed to the land of the true "sesame street" vote police zimmer's first grade class at watson elementary.

♪ election day is coming and we know all about it ♪ ♪ don't forget to cast your vote ♪ ♪ we want to hear your voice >> reporter: a hot button issue. >> you get to fill out your ballots. >> reporter: ten extra minutes of recess versus one night of no homework. >> it was a nail baiter and then pure elation. >> no homework. >> the celebration and some disappointment when the majority ruled. no homework. >> reporter: next week we traveled to the city of the founding fathers, the homeland of our constitution where students resorted to some sweet incentives to persuade kids to vote. >> it's just us trying to outdo each other, like if you bring in cupcakes today i'm going to bring in like bigger cup takes tomorrow. >> reporter: like leaders before them, these students take their roles seriously.

>> i want to be that guy that you just walk up to in the hallway and i say i need help. sure, man. let meet later, i'll talk to the teachers or something. >> reporter: the academy at columbo high school set up a mock election. >> the idea of taking something that politics is for adults, for people who are older and trying to change that idea. they are for everybody. >> i have a choice and i get to tell people who i want to vote for. >> reporter: when you turn 18, do you plan on voteing? >> yes. >> i tell my students that as they get older and they don't vote that when i'm a very old man and i pass on, that i will come back and haunt them. >> reporter: just hours after their own inauguration, the new leaders shed light on what they have learned from those who came before them. >> martin luther king, obama, people like that maybe can give you an idea that you can run. don't quit and just strive for your goals. >> reporter: these kids spoke about the importance of voting and their excitement of turning

18. and since the youth vote the least represented group, it's really important that schools start teaching this habit and this right early. >> yeah. i'm happy to see that happening. mind giving us a little insight. we're going to watch this election as journalists and at citizens and as interested parties. you've watched several as a daughter and a granddaughter. what's the tension like on election night when you're part of the family? >> it's hard. you know, i'm glad to be watching it as a citizen, i have to say, you know, because one thing i think we don't talk about enough in this country is politicians as humans, as fathers, as husbands, and both of the men tonight, you know, they are dads, and they are husbands and so for me watching my dad, you know, go through that stress, it's hard for the kids. >> let me go back even earlier. when your grandfather lost his bid for re-election were you in fourth grade. >> yeah. >> do you remember the disappointment? >> we were in houston and remember watching him and he's

my gampy and i remember watching him work so hard, that's what he wanted. i remember crying. i was a fourth grader. >> let's go forward to 2000, election to end all elections. how old? >> i was 18. >> that turned into not election night but election month basically. >> 36 days. >> going to the supreme court. how much tension was it? >> really hard and particularly hard for my mom because, you know, she -- we were 18 so we were off at college and kind of could go back to our routine of christmas break and then school, but it was hard for my mom to watch my dad, you know, go through this really stressful time. >> tried to keep normal in her life. there's this picture of her in 2000 in the governor's mansion in austin, texas doing dishes. >> cleaning. >> who can do dishes? >> my mom is like you where she has a little bit of an ocd issue. >> i knew i liked your mom. >> has a little bit of an ocd issue, when she's stressed she cleans. >> when your dad was running for

re-election in 2004, was there any -- also a tense night. was there any part of you that wanted it to go the other way so that you could have your life back completely? >> no, you know. i mean, i think maybe when we were 18 there might have been some of that selfishness when they told us he was running for president. barbara and i were shocked because we were college kids and we were most important, our freedom, but in 2004 we wanted him to be president. we'd witnessed september 11 as college students, and we wanted him to keep us safe, and, you know, we want what's best for your parents because they want what's best for you. both in 2000 and 2004, we went to bed. our whole family not knowing that he had been elected so i just hope we go to bed with a winner, for all the families' sake. >> nice of you to share this. >> sure. >> it's not something you do very often. you don't walk around the office and say let me tell you about my time in the white house. >> no, not much. >> thanks, jenna, i appreciate it. >> just ahead, more from here on democracy plaza on election day 2012 after your local news.

s 8:26 on this election day, 2012. the polls are open right now in the district, maryland and virginia. closing time varies by state. polls close at 7:00 and 8:00. good morning, i'm aaron. grab your coat as you head out the door. >> you need a coat to vote. it is cold around the region. we are hovering below the region. much of the area approaching 8:30. it's around upper 20s to low 30s. later today into the 40s. sun, not a lot of wind. tomorrow, increasing clouds. the coastal storm may bring rain and wet snow near the area and

east. back to you. >> thanks, tom. traffic is next.

good morning. still seeing an accident in gainsville. northbound, prince william parkway, you are closed because of the tractor trailer accident in that area.

traveling i-270 northbound and southbound is clear. here is a live look at shady grove. aaron. >> thank you. news 4 is working for you this election day. see the voting guide at www.nbcwashington.com and stay with us into tonight a

it's 8:30 now on a tuesday morning. it's november 6th, 2012. it's election day, and people are checking out democracy plaza here at rockefeller center. this, of course, is our election night home. and by the way, a week from today this place will be transformed into one direction plaza when the hottest boy band on the planet puts on a live concert. we are expecting huge crowds.

the great part of this job. one day we're covering a president for election and a week later boy bands on the plaza. bring your best sign. you'll have a chance to win concert tickets from the band. i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie and natalie morales from our perch here in democracy plaza. >> good morning again, everybody. we'll have the lighter side of this stimt tense presidential race. we'll talk about moments on the event that sparked viral videos and online trends and sometimes new vocabulary words. >> and on switching gears here, a very revealing interview with fashion icon donna karan, what she's doing to honor her late husband, the man she calls her inspiration. >> but first let's go over to al in another part of democracy plaza with a check of the weather.

>> and welcome here to democracy plaza. what democracy can't happen unless you have great caricatures and shelly is terrific. you're doing kind of a high-tech stuff. instead of on paper and using share cole, you're doing this electronically. >> yes. we're using a new windows 8 app called fresh paint and we're drawing with that to create caricatures for all these amazing citizens who have come out to vote on our election day. >> very cool. you did one of me there. actually kind of a mashup of me and barack obama there. >> i think someone said that earlier, yeah. >> all right. very cool. anybody else you've been working on. >> what we'll do today is add a little facial here to you because you're looking a little -- you're looking a little cold. >> you're going to give me a

stache for movember. >> can even give you hair if you like. on that. that's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> cold election day morning around virginia, maryland, west virginia, delaware. it's still hovering around the freezing mark. thankfully, we have dry weather for today and not a lot of wind. lots of sunshine into the 40s this afternoon. clouding up tonight. the coast aloe we are talking about is going farther east. i-95 and the bay could get cold rain, wet snow tomorrow afternoon and evening. ending by dawn thursday. and that's your latest weather. come on down. shelly and a number of other folks doing a -- oh, look at that. that's not a lot of hair there. kind of charlie brownish, all right. thanks so much. back to you guys. oh, willard. willard, willard.

>> i like birthday cake and birthday ice cream and birthday buddies, and we've got birthday buddies right here on the smuckers hour. here is lee nelson from youngstown, ohio. 100 years old today. always greets people with a big smile and a big hug. i mean, he can hug a bear. ruth reeve from carmel, indiana. 109 years old today. secret to longevity is her faith and her friends. how about that. good old vincent rees, salt lake city, utah. i met my sweetie in salt lake city. 100 years old today. has traveled all over the world just to fish, the great salt lake. i wonder if it has any fish in it or not, i don't know. here is one of my favorite names in all the birthday lists, wally schweigh a u.s. er from nobleboro, maine, 100 years old

today. very talented artist. had an art show last month at 100. now, see, you can do it yourself. albert jackson, isn't that a good name, albert jackson from atmore, alabama, 109 years old today. loves praising the good lord and drinking dr. pepper. sometimes at the same time. gertrude, i love you gertrude linn from hermitage, pennsylvania. 103 years old, and she enjoys watching old tv shows and gardening. how about that. i like old tv shows. i was on old tv shows. now back to new york and a new tv show. >> all right, willard, thank you. coming up next from big bird to clint eastwood's chair, the campaign moments that had us all talking, but first, this is "today" on nbc.

and we're back now at 8:37 with more on this election day tweef. a few months ago you probably didn't give too much thought to things like big bird, binders full of women and bayonets. >> and they have become words and images that have sparked endless conversations online, not to mention many fake twitter accounts on the internet. willie geist is here with his top five meme. >> all understand what a meme is. >> something that takes on a life of its own. you'll see here when we start. number five, the top meme of 2012. binders full of women. both candidates were asked to do what they would generate gender equality in the workplace. this is mitt romney's response describing his time as governor of massachusetts. >> i went to a number of women's groups and said can you help us find folks, and they brought us a whole binders full of women. >> okay. so this took on a life of its own almost immediately. a twitter accoun

account @romney'sbinder and pictures started coming out. trapper keeper, i know you had a trapper keeper in high school. matt, did you have one of these? >> no, my generation. >> mine was a-team, what was yours? >> kitty cat. >> and right into the photographs. a dirty dancing picture that caught fire online. no one puts baby in a binder from swayze and the famous hillary clinton text blog put up romney still uses binders, lol. >> you're right this. happened like in minutes. >> instantly after that. >> that's the beauty of twitter, well, if you think it's the beauty. >> the beauty and the pain. >> also big halloween costume this year, women dressed in binders. all right. number four, horses and bayonets, at the last presidential debate. president obama had a line at ready when mitt romney questioned the wisdom of having fewer ships in the navy. >> you mentioned the navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. well, governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets. >> they got 105,000 tweets per

minute about horses and bayonets on the night of that debate. >> you knew it was going to happen. >> knew it was coming, a parody blog went up almost immediately. some of the pictures we saw, obama riding a unicorn. unicorns are just horses with bayonets. a picture of romney's military was another one. also romney's foreign policy. now some fact-checking revealed later on that the united states marine corps has 175,000 bayonets. >> they still do. >> still exist. >> moving on to number 3, the little girl who spoke and wept for a nation, 4-year-old abigail evans finally got sick and tired of hearing about this campaign. >> i'm tired -- i'm tired of bronco bama and mitt romney. >> that's why you're crying? >> oh. it will be over soon, abbbe abb election will be over soon,

okay. >> okay. >> and a new name was coined bronco bama. >> not on the ballot. >> she lives in a swing state, right? >> yes. >> 12 million views on youtube at last check. abigail evans, her mother posted that. she had been listening to npr on the way to the grocery store and that's what prompted the tears. >> hilarious. >> so npr put out an apology. >> as they should have. >> on behalf of npr we apologize to abigail and all the others who probably feel like her. we must confess the campaign's gone on too long for her, too. >> agreement on that question. >> yes. >> now let's get to this. a tough choice between one and two. big bird, believe it or not, came up just short, going back to that first presidential debate. governor romney broke some bad news to the big yellow pbs icon when the candidate spelled out his spending cuts. >> i'm going to stop the subsidy to pbs. i'm going to stop other things. i like pbs. i love big bird. >> big twitter account, of course, @firebigbird and lots of

pictures, big bird sitting on the stoop saying will work for third and big bird in a depressd responded via the "sesame street" page saying my bed time is usually 7:45. i was tired yesterday and fell asleep at 7:00. did i miss anything last night? >> prompted a whole campaign from the obama side as well. >> it became a talking point. >> and the craziest think of all sexy big bird halloween costumes. >> i don't think that's possible. >> that's an oxymoron. >> time for number one. you guys ready? >> who chose these, by the way? >> an esteemed panel of experts. by that i mean me. number one meme of the 2012 campaign, it has to be eastwooding. clint eastwood created near internet hysteria when he read the riot act to an empty chair at the republican national convention in august. this was all over the place. basically captivated the internet. eastwooding became the new tebowing. people posting photographs online of them angrily pointing

at chairs, a man -- a dog pointing at a chair and then we had perhaps capping all of this, pee-wee herman talking to chair darby, the famous chair from "pee-wee's playhouse, and the final word came from the president saying this seat's taken. >> one of the most memorable moments from the campaign in the last election cycles. >> andrea mitchell called it afterwards exceedingly strange. >> but the romney campaign used clint eastwood in an ad in a campaign so they are sticking by their man. >> eastwood versus big bird, we'll see who wins. >> you mentioned governor romney. this is the scene apparently or was the scene just a couple of minutes ago. belmont, massachusetts, as governor romney headed into a polling site to vote on this election day. we have an idea who he voted for. we'll be back in a moment. this is "today" on nbc. [ earnest ] out of the blue one day,

we were told to build a 30-foot stage. gathered the guys and we built that 30-foot stage, not knowing what it was for. just days later, all three shifts were told to assemble in the warehouse. a group of people walked out on that stage and told us that the plant is now closed and all of you are fired... i looked both ways, i looked at the crowd, and...we all just lost our jobs. we don't have an income. mitt romney made over 100 million dollars by shutting down our plant and devastated our lives. turns out that when we built that stage, it was like building my own coffin, and it just made me sick. [ male announcer ] priorities usa action is responsible for the content of this advertising.

>> donna karan conjures up visions of high fashion but there's more to the woman behind the famous label. she has a remaable story of love and loss and now a mission to carry on the legacy of her soul mate, the man who helped build her brand. here's nbc's kristen dahlgren. >> reporter: she is a force in american fashion. the name on a million labels. >> hello, brooklyn! >> reporter: best friends to barbra, she's recently dressed the icon for her return to brooklyn concert but donna karan's latest project is by far her most personal. >> it's taken me a while to put this all together. i don't want to cry, that's crazy. >> reporter: an art exhibit and companion book, the works of her late husband stephen weiss, most never seen outside their inner

circle. just a few in the public really knew the man behind the design superstar. >> where would donna karan be without him? >> wouldn't. wouldn't. stephen was my partner in business. but you're an artist, honey. what do you know about the fashion industry, but stephen knew everything. >> theirs is a love story. >> the minute i met stephen i knew he was it. you know, i met him when i was 18 years old. >> reporter: it was ten years later they would finally reconnect, join their lives, their families and together build one of the world's biggest labels, revolutionizing the way we dress, bringing easy uptown chic to women everywhere, as the label took off with done that karan and dkny she was called the queen of seventh avenue but never alone, stephen was at her side from every decision to launching a men's line to creating a fragrance. >> we cannot design clothes, hem lines go up and down but a

fragrance will last forever. >> reporter: stephens personally designed the perfume bottle but the pony-tailed artist handled the business side taking the company public in a massive deal. >> i love these pieces personally because they remind me the most of stephen. >> reporter: his creativity is clear in his art and somewhat quirky, he brought out the unexpected in the high-powered fashion mogul. >> every night we listened to obi-wan kenobi. >> reporter: he worked in an endless variety of medium, clay, paint, sculpture. >> shall i make a pair for the runway. >> reporter: look at that. >> this would definitely be donna karan. >> reporter: but the couple esteemed to have it all soon found out that stephen had lung cancer, and everything changed. he died in 2001, never living to see his larger than life series completed and leaving donna with a huge request. >> right before he passed away, he said, donna, whatever you do, take care of the nurses so i

have a mission that i'm on. >> reporter: the request inspired karan's urban zen initiative bringing help to hospitals and helping after the haitian earthquake but in putting together the art exhibit she found out how much she also inspired him when a love note never sent fell out of one of his sketch books. >> donna, thank you for finding me. when shy ship was disabled on this planet. you became my universe. >> reporter: a love story cut short but far from finished. >> i believe i am carrying out his legacy. i believe stephen is here every single day. i am connected with him more now than i've ever been. >> reporter: for "today," kristen dahlgren, nbc news, new york. >> the exhibit is called connecting the dots. it's open until december 22nd here in new york city. coming up next, everything you need to throw an election night party tonight, but first

this is "today" on nbc. president obama: there's just no quit in america... and you're seeing that right now. over five million new jobs. exports up forty one percent. home values... rising. our auto industry... back. and our heroes are coming home. we're not there yet, but we've made real progress and the... last thing we should do is turn back now. here's my plan for the next four years: making education and training a national priority;

building on our manufacturing boom; boosting american-made energy; reducing the deficits responsibly by cutting where... we can, and asking the wealthy to pay a little more. and ending the war in afghanistan, so we can... do some nation-building here at home. that's the right path. so read my plan, compare it to governor romney's... and decide which is better for you. it's an honor to be your president... and i'm asking for your vote... so together, we can keep moving america forward. i'm barack obama and i approve this message. this morning on requested today's kitchen" an election party plan. whether you lean to the left or the right tonight is the perfect time for a patriotic get-together. we have the director of "martha stewart living."

good morning to you. >> good morning. we have something for both sides of the aisle. great bipartisan dip because everyone loves it, can i just say one thing. if your neighbors are in need invite them over, especially in this tri-state area. >> absolutely. >> spinach artichoke dip. we have cream cheese in here, some artichokes which are canned and drained. >> canned artichokes. >> parmesan cheese, a little lighter weight than your big stick goopy dip. >> can you use low-fat cream cheese. >> if you want and lemon juice, garlic and cayenne. can you chop this if you don't have a food processor. >> that's about a glove of garlic. >> if this works we'll be really lucky. >> come on. >> and we want to get this really nice and completely smooth, all right? >> and how long would you do that? >> just until you look in and it's smooth and that's completely smooth. then we add the rest of the

artichokes. we add some spinach, those are the two stars of this recipe, the spinach and the artichoke. >> spinach you cooked. >> either cook it and drain it or you can defrost it from the freezer. >> got it. >> and then we have some scallions and that's it. completely it. what we do with this one is we just pulse it so we have chunks so it's nice. >> i think that answered my question. wondering why you saved some of the artichokes. >> because you want texture in here. >> and this is what you have ander is of it with crudite. >> i notice you have the red and blue, a nice touch. >> here we are in the two places that our candidates hail from. we have our chicago dogs, and to make a chicago dog it's -- they are so serious in that windy city about their dogs. you've got the pickle. you've got tomato. you've got some -- a little bit of onion and you need to have this relish, there's the thing. >> did you make that neon relish. >> you can buy it or you can make it, and then oh, darn. i don't have the squeeze bott. you've got to zigzag the

mustard. >> you do. >> this is so not chicago. >> how am i going to do it? >> listen, i'm doing it. i want to do them proud and a little bit of celery salt and you wonder why celery salt? >> i have no idea. that's the way they do it. >> that's the chicago. >> you toast the bun. >> with a little bit of poppy seed on it, too. >> okay. >> oh, i forgot the sport pepper. little peperoncini on top. >> you partial to any particular hot dogs or any will do in. >> the red hots is what you did and i boiled these with beef because i couldn't get my hands on red hot dogs. >> on the other side we have new england clam chowder. it's super easy, only a few ingredients. make a big batch and have your neighbors over ander is of it with a little garlic bread and to book end our bipartisan dip i felt like you could have some hard apple cider. apple is as american as apple

cider and then just have regular ciders. this is hard with punch to it and regular cider for the kid. >> chowder is great for a cold tonight, night. recipes on the website. >> super easy. chowder is so easy, really easy. new england clam choweder. >> thank you so much. >> thanks, savannah. >> find all the recipes on today.com. >> yes, can you. >> we'll be back with more of "today" right after this. >> are you going to try one? >> of course i am.

8:56 is your time on this november 6th, election day. the polls are open in the district of maryland and virginia. lines are up to an hour in most polling locations. polls closing time varies from state to state. make sure to grab your coat as

you head out the door. tom kierein is here with a look at the forecast. hi, tom. >> only the low to mid-30s. we don't have a lot of wind. highs into the 40s. tomorrow, the coastal storm, maybe rain, snow during the afternoon and evening hours east of i-95 ending by dawn on thursday. sunny and warmer into the weekend. it's the way it looks. >> thanks.

good news. earlier crashes northbound has the prince william parkway shut down is out of the roadway. it's stop and go as you travel the beltway eastbound. >> thank you. news 4 is working for you on this election day. before you vote, see our voting on

we're back now with more of "today" on a tuesday morning. it's the 6th day of november, 2012. yes, that makes it election day 2012. as you come from the sky and take a look down at the skating rink, what was normally rockefeller plaza, now it's democracy plaza on this election day. just across the street, kathy corner there, studio 1a. i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie. nice people stopping by on a chilly november morning here in new york city. we're happy they joined us, and

a lot of people waking this up morning to go out and vote early. a polling place in cincinnati, ohio. of course, that could be the swing state of all swing states, and people already at it voting there this morning and down in florida, another very key battleground state. we've got voting going on there as well. >> a lot of wet weather down there. >> that's right. >> and we've seen both candidates vote this morning, and, of course, we know that president obama cast his vote early in chicago a couple weeks ago. also ahead, we've done a real political analysis and now we'll do fun political analysis, very unscientific polls in our "take 3" just ahead, and then we'll take a look back at one of the most iconic images in an american brand, the gerber baby, and we'll meet the original gerber baby and reveal the new one. >> that's kind of cool. >> yeah. >> and then the latest trend in beauty. everything you need to know from the hottest creams to help you look younger to teeth brighteners, all covered for you. the newest of the new. >> all right. lots to get to. let's go inside.

natalie is standing by at the news desk with all the headlines. >> good morning again, matt, savannah and al. good morning, everyone. it's decision day as voters nationwide cast their presidential ballot. nbc's peter alexander is in belmont, massachusetts with more. peter, good morning. >> reporter: natalie, good morning to you. just about ten minutes ago we watched mitt romney and his wife ann walk out of this polling site behind us in the community of belmont just outside of boston. when governor romney walked inside, he was asked by one of the reporters who followed him who do you vote for? he said i think you know who. this is the end of a six-year journey for governor romney, a presidential bid that dates back that long. today he's actually going back on the campaign trail. he's going to head to ohio and pennsylvania to try to rally support there, motivate supporters and also thank some of his volunteers. the president, of course, voted earlier. he voted last week. he is spending this day in chicago in what has become an annual tradition, at least on election day for the president is that he's going to have a game of basketball with some of his close friends, by natalie, as we have witnessed, this is an

exceedingly close race right now and both sides are particularly confident that despite polls that may show the president with the lead they are going to come out victorious tomorrow. that's the latest from here. now back to you. >> peter alexander in belmont, massachusetts. and a reminder can you catch all of our nbc election night coverage live from democracy plaza tonight at 7:00 p.m. eastern time and 4:00 p.m. pacific. more than 1illi m homes and businesses are still in the dark today as new york and new jersey struggle to recover after superstorm sandy.s dropping tem and a new storm head to the region. a nor'easter set to head to the area on wednesday and officials are helping to ease the voting process allowing people in emergency zones to vote in any polling station they can access. violence in the middle east this morning in iraq. a car bomb has exploded near a military base north of baghdad killing at least 27 people and wounding dozens of others. meantime this morning in syria,

gunmen assassinate the the brother of the parliament speaker in damascus. this as the government shutters the office of hamas breaking with the militant group it once backed against israel. officials from american airlines and u.s. airways are reportedly meeting today to discuss the benefits and downsides of a possible merger. both airlines announced last week that they had signed a non-disclosure agreement and would exchange confidential information while they evaluate a potential combination. american's parent company fil for bankruptcy protection nearly one year ago. "x" factor judge britney spears is becoming a woman of letters. the pop star is currently in talks with the publishers to write her first solo novel. the hollywood reporter says the work of fiction would probably incorporate elements of spears' real life. spears has already one fiction and one nonfiction book to her credit, both co-written with her mother. it's now four minutes after the hour. you're up to date. let's go back outside with al

with another check of the weather right acrossght. outside come inside. it's beautiful. >> let's see what we have for you weather wise. natalie mentioned we have a nor'easter, strong winds developing along the coast. bands of rain spreading north. coastal flooding because of the damage from sandy earlier. we have a storm surge from ocean city, marand up to new haven, connecticut. wednesday afternoon into midnight. we are looking at windy weather, coastal winds with 50 to 60 miles per hour gusts, may bring down more power lines or at least slow down the work on the power lines being done already. snow to talk about. this may move further to the east. it's going to drag in colder air. we are talking about snow. it's too early to tell how much from salisbury, maryland up to caribou, maine. great. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> a light, chilly breeze this morning. a live look at the white house with sunshine.

winds at 5 to 10 miles per hour. it's chilly, only in the 30s. reagan national at 39 now with a wind from the northeast at 5 to 10. later today, into the 40s. sunshine and light breezes. cloudy tomorrow. the coastal storm might provide a little wet snow east of washington. perhaps east of i-95 around the bay and the eastern shore tomorrow and light accumulations on grassy areas. >> all right. now to today's "take 3" as we share our take on top stories catching our atttion. joining us is msnbc's alex wagner. >> what are you going to be doing? >> ordering pizza, ordering room service. >> putting on your pjs. >> i'll be calling the senatera. >> cool. >> we've seen so many polls this election season. how about we look at unscientific polls. the first is the redskins role.

i know people who believe in this. in 17 of the past 18 races a win for the washington redskins meant a win for the incumbent president or party. and in fact the -- the result of the redskins last home game before the election has a near perfect record. so here's what happened. the redskins lost on sunday, so if you believe the redskins rule, mitt romney will be the next president. >> there is an exception to the rule. 17 out of 18. the one time that the incumbent didn't win was president herbert walker bush. >> can't the redskins just be allowed to just win games? doesn't rg3 have enough pressure on his shoulders? >> i detect a bias towards the redskins. >> you know, a child of washington, d.c., and i am a skins fan. >> okay. >> sorry they lost. >> how about the cookie poll. i like this one. >> this i feel like might have vg to it. the bakery has count the votes

based on cookie sale n.2008 the obama cookie got 68% of the cookie sale and 68% of the electoral vote. well, the cookie poll this year currently has obama beating romney 14,317 cook toys 12,690 cookies. >> you know why his was more popular? >> because with the ears you get extra cookie. >> i mean, savannah, what kind of cookies arethese, too, do we know? is it oatmeal rasin in. >> probably sugar cookies. >> to be truly fair it should be the same type of cooky. >> truly. >> and the only difference should be just the face. >> this is in the swing state of ohio in a swing area that the candidates have visited a lot. >> a schwing. >> november 6 streak, never heard of this one. since election day standardized in 1845 six presidential elections that fell on november 6th and republicans have all won all six of them, that streak began in 1860 with the streak of abraham lincoln and in 1984

ronald reagan beat walter mondale so if november 6th is supposedly good for republicans, that's an indication. >> looking at the redskins poll and this, you know, that latest, then i guess -- >> the cookie poll. >> if the election is not called until the 7th then maybe it changes. >> maybe, i don't know. >> all right. take two. a house divided. the "new york times" blog poses the question what happens when you and a family member differ politically over the candidates that you support? >> well, i grew up in a household where there was definitely one parent on each side and it became heated, heated discussion. >> did they talk politics at the dinner table? >> all the time, and i think they finally both decided for things to work and for it to be a better dinner conversation across the board the political talk had to end. >> did it bother you guys as kids listening to mom and dad argue? >> i think it was good because i really grew up getting a sense of both sides of the aisle and what the debates were about, so i got a good sense of, you know, interested in politics early on i think because of that, but at

the same time there's a place, a time and place for everything, and when it becomes too much, then, you know, you need -- you need to make sure you limit that conversation. >> ex-communicated and cut everybody out of the will who doesn't agree with us. just kidding. totally open discussion. there's strong beliefs in the wagner family. luckily they are shared among many family members. >> you can sit around and agree with each other. we understand there are people out there that are different, with different ideologies and political leanings. >> what about you? >> we -- growing up we had that in my house right now we have a difference of opinions, and, you know, i'm not saying what, but the -- it has led for interesting conversation with the kids. >> yeah. it's good to debate i think but sometimes it gets so heated so i think you have to at a time when it gets too upsetting to step sglak when t back. >> when the police are called. >> democracy, making sure you

hear their opinions. >> online voting. this is a question a lot of people have been saying. how come we can't vote online? seems like we do everything else online. wouldn't it make life so much easier and especially in countries like canada, norway, australia, they have adopted these online voting systems and it's worked there, so a lot of proponents are saying this would help boost voter turnout, especially the youth vote, but there are people who say, you know, this would create an unlevel voteing field for seni s seniors. don't have access to computers, probably won't get out in that way and people are worried about hackers for hacking into the system and people swaying the vote >> i think you should -- certain things shouldn't be made easy. you know what? this is something that our forefathers fought for. people died for this right, you know, but we both, you know, in civil rights, and, you know, for wars, and i think, you know, there's nothing wrong with going out and actually, like deborah

took nicky out this morning, and watched the process work. >> it's fun, it's fun. >> and some people actually give out coffee and doughnuts at the polling place. you get free cove and free doughnuts. >> so there you go. >> more reeasons to go to the polls. >> people should have more chances to vote, if the technology is there to help working class families get there and exercise theirundamental american right, i think that's good too, you know. maybe it's not an either/or. >> because of the hurricane, like new jersey, they have actually allowed people to vote online. >> and i think in new york city they announced you can go to any polling station. >> if you're affected by it, go to any polling station. >> exactly. >> we have a bonus take. alex? >> the woman in the white house? >> a woman in the white house, there is a new sheryl crow song called "woman in the white house" downloadable for free. >> i don't think that's it. >> i don't think that's it. ♪ >> that's not it either. >> it's a little bit funkier and more country.

>> there we go. >> that sounds like it. >> good track. >> and the song has provoked some critics, which is interesting. >> i like the first one though. ♪ >> it sounds like a mom in chief. >> oh, the baby elephant. >> focus, people, back to "woman in the white house." some of the lyrics to the song, time to clean out capitol hil with had a shovel and a pair of high heels because we need a little female common sense. well, we like to spend money, but not money we ain't got, and we can balance a checkbook so i think people have maybe taken it and it sounds a little bit like mom, a first housewife. female clichesr something. >> get a woman in the white house, get some more in the senate. get some more in congress. congress is only 17% female. >> yeah. >> and as we know that does not reflect the gender breakdown of the united states. >> right. >> so i say songs and action. let's go, ladies. >> whether you wear high heels or not.

>> exactly. >> and we can balance a checkbook. >> and there's some male senators who wear high heels. >> that is a story. alex wagner, thanks so much. >> have fun today. >> this is the super bowl. >> coming up next, the original baby face. we'll meet the gerber baby right after this. ♪ [ female announcer ] nature exists on the grandest scale... ♪ ...and in the tiniest details. ♪ and sometimes both. nature valley granola thins pack the big taste of granola and dark chocolate into one perfect square, under 100 calories. nature valley granola thins.

nature at its most delicious. nature valley granola thins. dazzler, on. wow! dirt dazzlers let me clean and work out at the same time. shame, shame, shame. ooh, slippery, ooh! uh, let's ditch the cha-chas and get down to business. pine sol - a real clean. no gimmicks. [ man ] and what did you think? i loved it. why? 'cause it's a toyota, of course! i want a car that's gonna last me for a little while. ♪ i like the bells and whistles. that's my favorite part about the car. i like the navigation. i like the entune. and it's fast. [ male announcer ] see ja ne't's story and more at the camry effect. from toyota. ♪

bikes and balloons, and noodles on spoons. a kite, a breeze, a dunk of grilled cheese. catches and throws, and spaghettio's. a wand, some wings, soup with good things. sidewalks and doodles and wholesome noodles. puddles and pails and yes, puppy dog tails. for a lunch like this, there's a hug and a kiss. because that's what happy kids are made of. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. yeah we both relieve coughs, sneezing, aches, fevers. and i relieve nasal congestion. overachiever. [ female announcer ] tylenol® cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion. nyquil® cold and flu doesn't. oh, did you want it? yea we'll split it. [ female announcer ] made fresh, so light, buttery and flakey. that's half that's not half! guys, i have more! thanks mom

[ female announcer ] pillsbury crescents. let the making begin it's debilitating when you try to talk, when you're trying to eat, when you're trying to sleep. i'm constantly licking my lips. water would address the symptoms for just a few minutes. the hygienist recommended biotene. it's clean and refreshing, i feel like i have plenty of fluid in my mouth. i brush with the biotene toothpaste and i use the mouthwash every morning. it's changed my life. it is the last thing i do before i walk out the door. biotene gives me that fresh confident feeling. in the advertising world a cute baby with wide eyes is

synonymous with the gerber baby. the original gisher baby is here but first a look back at the iconic image. baby, a print ad that debuted in 1928 and went on to become synonymous with the brand for decades. a familiar baby face that evolved from black and white photos to television ads. >> this extra care goes into all gerber juices. >> but who is the face of gerber, an artist sketched ann turner cook and her face was chosen after a nationwide contest to find the ideal baby for a new line of products. her baby face went on to be trademarked years later, and now a new generation of smiling babies recently competed for the coveted tight of the gerber baby. a new face for a new generation. and we are revehicaling the win right now.

her name is mary jane and she's here with her parents and the original gerber baby. good morning to all of you. >> good morning. >> congratulations, sarah and billy. what an incredible thing for you and mary jane. obviously adorable and gorgeous. there was tough competition here. 300,000 people submitted pictures. >> yes. >> we basically submitted the picture the very last day within the last two hours of the time frame. it took a little while to get that picture, too, because she would not stop looking at the crowd and the birds and turning her face so it did take a while to get the shot but once we got it we submit it had and got it in in the nick of time. >> did you have a lot of hope? did you think y had a winner? >> of course we think our baby is adorable. >> absolutely. >> and every parent sees that in their child. >> got the gerber spunk for sure. you can finally tell, billy, your family because you've been signature on this secret for three weeks. >> very tough to keep it from

our family. so excited and bursting at seams with pride for your daughter. can't wait till she grows up to say she's the gerber baby. >> there's a cash prize in this as well, $50,000. >> what do you plan to do with the money? >> higher education. we see the value in that and it's going to her college. >> mary jane is not replacing ann turner cook all together. >> no. >> this is a year long new campaign, the new generation of gerber. >> new advertisements coming in. >> will be the star of this year's advertising. >> tell me how much that changed your life, becoming a gerber baby back in the 1920s. you are the original. >> yes, yes. since 1928 i've been the face of every product that gerber made. it's been wonderful to me to be the symbol for babies, and i've become a symbol worldwide for babies, but even more important for such a good product. i can always be very proud of the product because it's always been good nutrition for babies.

>> you still have the same cheeks and that sparkle in your eye, for sure. now i know your children, you have four grown children of your own. >> four children. >> all proud of the fact. they go about touting that you're the original gerber baby. >> everywhere they can. >> they always did. even in a grocery store, they would go down the aisle and they would point out that's my mother's picture. well, it's hard to explain to people. >> who do you think of the new generation? >> oh, she is just adorable, and she's a delightful little person. >> she's got that gerber spirit in her, that's for sure. great to have you all here. congratulations. that's a great face, all right. there's the gerber baby for you. thank you all so much. thank you. >> congratulations to you. >> we're so honored. >> you've got it. >> coming up, we're going to switch gears. the foods to reach for the afternoon snack attack craving that hits, but first these messages. perfect golden color. rich in fiber. my dad taught me, and i taught my son out there.

morning, pa. wait... who's driving the...? ♪ 99 bushels of wheat on the farm, 99 bushels of wheat ♪ [ male announcer ] yep, there's 8 layers of whole grain fiber in those mini-wheats® biscuits... to help keep you full... ♪ 45 bushels of wheat ...all morning long. there's a big breakfast... [ mini ] yee haw! ...in those fun little biscuits. your mouth has been snacking, gift stacking, nutcracking and yellowing. because if you're not whitening, you're yellowing. crest whitestrips remove over 10 years of stains, just in time for a white holiday. crest 3d white whitestrips. i just finished a bowl of your new light chicken pot pie soup and it's so rich and creamy... is it really 100 calories? let me put you owebcan... ...lean roasted chicken... and a creamy broth mmm i can still see you. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. yay! come get into bed. this is a story about jingle the husky pup. and jingle was a good dog.

ruff! ruff! jingle loved to bark hello. ruff! ruff! ruff! ruff! jingle even loved to sing. ruff! ruff! ruff! ruff! ruff! jingle! let's read the book to him. jingle, stay. and jingle did. ruff! ruff! [ female announcer ] hallmark interactive story buddies. when you read key words, jingle responds. chips, chips! [ female announcer ] silence those tempting thoughts with new light & fit greek. its creamy thick texture helps satisfy you. and at 80 calories it's the lightest greek yogurt with fruit. new light & fit greek. be light and fit and satisfied.

the freshenator. the buddy system. the do si go. the two-handed tango. el cleaño. [ female announcer ] nothing leaves you feeling cleaner and fresher than the cottonelle care routine. try it. then name it. why use temporary treatments when you can prevent the acid that's causing it with prevacid24hr. with one pill prevacid24hr works at the source to prevent the acid that causes frequent heartburn all day and all night. and with new prevacid24hr perks, you can earn rewards from dinner deals to music downloads for purchasing prevacid24hr. prevent acid all day and all night for 24 hours with prevacid24hr. . still to come on "today," go

the-too foods you need on hand when you need a boost that won't bust your healthy diet. >> and the newest products in beauty for your hair, skin and nails, but first your local news and weather. would love this, huh? jack? jaaack? jaaack?! jack?! looks good ladies! jack! come on, stop the car. jack! no, no, no, no, no! the only thing more surprising than finding the perfect gifts.. niice. ...is where you find them. how did you know? i had a little help. this is how to gift. this is sears. it's eb. want to give your family the very best in taste, freshness, and nutrition? it's eb. eggland's best. better taste. better nutrition. better eggs. too bad the guys aren't here we're clear. ok, swarm! swarm!

hello [ female announcer ] pillsbury chocolate chip cookies. let the making begin 9:26 on this election day 2012. the polls are now open in the district, maryland and virginia. we are told lines are just about an hour in most polling locations. this video just in from germantown this morning. polls close at 7:00 tonight. d.c. and maryland close at 8:00. good morning, i'm aaron gilchrist. take your coats to vote. tom, it's still cold out there. >> it is. it's above freezing, but mid-30s. a live view from the hd city camera showing sunshine. reagan national is at 39.

bottomed out at. we'll have a, into the 40s, the coastal storm bringing rain and we

good morning. crash on the beltway approaching georgia avenue blocks the right lane and

♪ get out, get out, get out of my head ♪ ♪ and fall in my arms instead >> if you've got a tween in the house, then these guys need no introduction. they are the hottest boy band from britain, one direction, and they are going to be taking over the plaza one week from today, so if you're in the area come on down. bring your best sign. you could win concert tickets from the band. it's going to be a very prouded plaza. we also want to let you know that the stars of the newest "twilight" movie will be stopping by beginning tomorrow with kristen stewart. thursday it's robert pattinson and friday taylor lautner will be here so twihard be sure to

tune in. >> a tween extravaganza. >> tweenapalooza. >> i'm savannah guthrie. >> and i'm natalie morales. >> the snack foods you should always have around the house that should fill you up without filling you out. do you see any peanut but they are? probably not, and the beauty trends of the moment from skin dreams to makeup to keep you looking fresh. >> and on this election day we're visiting our class of 2020 practicing their right to vote in their own fifth grade student council elections. >> that's cute. >> but first let's check in with al who is on democracy plaza. >> i made my way down to washington, d.c. to get in the white house press briefing room. only kidding. down here on the concourse. part of democracy plaza. you can have your picture taken in either a replica of the white house briefing room or walk with

me, duane. you can get your picture taken in the oval office. wow, look at this. what's your names? >> evan. >> and olivia. >> where are you guys from? >> from california. >> they are from californolivia. >> they are cute and freckled and red haired. that's democracy at its best. let's show you what we have going on for the weather today. a lot of wet weather for election day. plenty of sunshine making its way into the pacific northwest. get your feet off the desk. put your feet up on it at home? for tonight, more rainmaking its way up the mid-atlantic. the swing states are looking good. i don't think that's democracy at work. that's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. all right. >> good morning. sunny and chilly around the region. still in the 30s in most regions.

we have a lot of sunshine and a bit of a breeze around 5 to 10 miles per hour. that will be with us for the rest of the day. we climb to the mid and upper 40s. storms bringing in clouds, chilly rain and snow east of i-95 tomorrow afternoon and evening. then, the sun returns and warming up as we get into the weekend and veterans day observed monday.our latest weather. ladies? >> all right, al. >> thank you. >> coming up next, the hottest new trends in beauty right after this. ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ ding! ] losing your chex mix too easily? time to deploy the boring-potato chip decoy bag. then no one will want to steal the deliciousness. [ male announcer ] with a variety of tastes and textures, only chex mix is a bag of interesting.

for a professional cleansing device? join the counter revolution and switch to olay pro-x. get cleansing results as effective as a $200 system. guaranteed or your money back.

olay pro-x. we put our name on it. in our jcp shop you'll find well-made clothes that stand on their own and mix with your favorites. ♪ get it on ♪ bang the gong ♪ get it on we're big fans of izod, a classic since 1922. and still every guy's go-to for no-fuss style. jcp and izod make it easy, always at a great deal. ♪

this morning on "today's beauty," you newest trends. our lifestyle expert has scoured the market from harris to nails to help you find the best. good morning. >> good morning. >> there's new products and new technology all the time. you brought us the latest and greatest. you start with skin care. hyperpigmentation is the new wrinkle. what do you mean by that? >> we focus so much attention on wrinkles, what really ages us is our uneven tone so recent developments have shown that uneven tone is how we register aging. so that fresh glow to our skin, so this is going to be a bipartisan choice because it's natural and effective. you can choose both. they have a full system with apple plant stem cells that will help to diminish uneven tones and give you a healthy growth.

>> brown spots or dark spots as you age. kind of helping with that. >> perfect system. >> my dermatologist uses this skin care system. >> elure is amazing and has won every award out there. it contains a mushroom extract. it helps did i miminish an unev tone. >> this is more natural. >> exactly. >> now olay a top brandywiner as well. >> it is. so we have learned our abcs of dreams and now we're on to cc dreams. this is going to be like its predecessor in that it gives you the coverage, the spf around moic moistization and contains more anti-aging and will help with more coverage so this is better for your skin. >> what's this? >> going into the aging hair section. >> because your hair shows your

age, too, thinner, less lustrous. >> it does. on average we lose 100 strands of hair per day, and as we get older that process slows down. those replacement hairs don't come back and hair should have 13% moisture but we also lose that as we age. >> right. >> this is a collect of different products they will add in some of those benefits so hair care companies are pulling from skin care companies and adding in the anti-aging ingredients. >> what are some of the ingredients? >> this one uses caviar that helps smooth the hair follicle and this uses vitamin e and this mask that will split out the cuticle as well and add vibrancy back into the hair. >> and air tools. >>flatteners dry out the hair. this one has a fabric side to protect your hair and allows it to breathe. you get the sleek hair but there's volume. it does an incredible job of adding volume but not drying it

out. >> let's move on to teeth because your smile can really tell a lot, really shows your age a lot if you have yellowed teeth or discoloration to your teeth. seen all the whitening systems but now the whitening systems basically work within minutes. >> we all know whitening teeth are so important but sometimes it's hard to do it every day or spend hours. new technology that makes it very accessible. this is luster now. it actually contains a blue toothpaste. >> it's blue. >> that's going to get these white. >> optical effect. right away you can use it. >> interesting. >> after drinking a glass of wine, use this and it will take away the redness. pop some gum in your mouth by super smile and glo has a textured tip and rub away the stains before they settle. >> after that glass of wine, take that stick and there you go go. >> now over here, the new trends in beauty, bold lips. >> bold bright red lips. >> yeah. >> you want to be classy, not flashy with your lips, and so choose your deep berries and reds.

ox blood is a popular color this season so use that, but the biggest problem with reds is they bleed very easily. darker shades bleed very easily so use a translucent powder first and then a pencil. it will create a barrier so your lipstick doesn't blend in, and if you're afraid of wearing any type of deep reds, go into a shotter shade. this is a collection of lighter pinks that allows it to be easier. >> and blushes. >> juxtapose that bright tara lipinski s with the more pale neutral-colored cheek. >> if you have more of a dry skin, use this, it's a cream bush, builds easily. >> real quick, running out of time, colored nails and here we're seeing candidate colors for today. >> democracy at work. red and blue. >> if you don't want that you can still go neutral. >> talking, if you want to do what i do and stay bipartisan and wear both colors. >> sarah, thank you so much. >> thank you.

nice to be here. >> coming up, the best foods to reach for when you need a quick snack or a healthy meal. joy bauer is here. the capital one cash rewards card gives you 1% cash back on all purchases, plus a 50% annual bonus. and everyone likes 50% more... [ midwestern/chicago accent ] cheddar! yeah! 50 percent more [yodeling] yodel-ay-ee-oo. 50% more flash. [ southern accent ] 50 percent more taters. that's where tots come from. [ male announcer ] the capital one cash rewards card gives you 1% cash back on every purchase plus a 50% annual bonus on the cash you earn. it's the card for people who like more cash. 50% more spy stuff. what's in your wallet? this car is too small. has oats that can help lower cholesterol? and it tastes good? sure does! wow. it's the honey, it makes it taste so... well, would you look at the time... what's the rush? be happy. be healthy. what are you lookin' at? i wasn't... not looking at anything... we're not good enough for you. must be supermodels? what do you model gloves? brad, eat a snickers. why? 'cause you get a little angry when you're hungry. better?

[ male announcer ] you're not you when you're hungry™. better. [ male announcer ] snickers satisfies. [ male announcer ] you're not you when you're hungry™. better. ♪ and the kids always eat their ivegetables.ue beacause the salad there is always served with the original hidden valley ranch. it's the way ranch is supposed to taste. and try new hidden valley for everything. it's in the ketchup aisle.

the freshenator. the buddy system. the do si go. the two-handed tango. el cleaño. [ female announcer ] nothing leaves you feeling cleaner and fresher than the cottonelle care routine. try it. then name it. well, inside the brewer, there's a giant staircase. and the room is filled with all these different kinds of coffee. actually, i just press this button. brew what you love, simply. keurig. ♪ you make me happy [ female announcer ] choose the same brand your mom trusted for you. children's tylenol, the #1 brand of pain and fever relief recommended by pediatricians and used by moms decade after decade. chips, chips! [ female announcer ] silence those tempting thoughts with new light & fit greek. its creamy thick texture helps satisfy you. and at 80 calories

it's the lightest greek yogurt with fruit. new light & fit greek. be light and fit and satisfied. and you pick the price that works for you. great. whoa, whoa, jamie. watch where you point that thing. [ mocking ] "watch where you point that thing." you point yours, i point mine. okay, l-let's stay calm. [ all shouting ] put it down! be cool! everybody, just be cool! does it price better on the side? no, it just looks cooler. the name your price tool, only from progressive. call or click today. i got you covered. thank you. oh, you're so welcome. this morning on "take it off today" healthy foods to have on hand in your fridge, freezer and pantry. "today" contributor and nutritionist joy bauer say these staples will help you whip up a

quick meal to help keep you on your diet track. first of all, happy birthday. >> thank you. >> joy bauer. >> a national shutout. >> i got the birthday tingles. >> on election day. >> very nice. >> there's three things. we've got your fridge, your freezer and your pantry and things you should have in there to keep from you going off the healthy eating. >> there are a gazillion healthy items but these in my opinion are some of the best of the best. >> starting in the fridge, your eggs. >> one egg supplies you with six grams of high quality protein, and they are so versatile, from breakfast to dinner. make fritattass for dinner all the time, reduced-fat cheese and so many brands and get the same amount of calcium and protein and less calories and less of the bad fat. >> and they used to taste kind of rubbery, not anymore. >> as lange as it's reduced fat. you want to avoid the fat-free but this tastes like the real mccoy. >> you say use hummus. >> every refrigerator should have a brand of a non-fat plain

yogurt, either greek or regular because you can use it instead of sour cream for dips and recipes. >> greek yogurt has become so hot now. >> so hot and a lot of proteins. >> and, of course, vegetables. >> veggies. >> a few that i want to sort of feature, one bell pepper has more than twice the amount of vitamin c as an orange, and we're getting into cold and flu season so we want to boost the immune system and when it comes to the green vegetables, kale and baby spinach leaves. it's like having a multi-vitamin. they are packed with everything from "a" to "z." anti-oxidants that promote short vision and a fun fact. baby spin each leaves, al, have more nutrients than fully matured spinach because the young leaves are more biological and active. >> i don't know if that's a fun fact, but it's an interesting one, not so much to me. >> fun if you're a nutritionist. we're a little warped. >> going to the freezer. >> when it comes to the freezer, i look to stock my nuts and seeds in the freezer because it keeps them fresher longer.

great snack or extension for diabetics because it won't spike your blud sugar. >> edamame in the pod, i call them magic beans. >> the magic bean is packed with protein and fiber and kids love them. >> fresh versus frozen. >> just as much nutrition. don't be afrase frayed of frozen vegetables and fruit and there's no ways and on the added season month they are more available. >> and then to the pantry. this stuff won't go bad. >> oats, whether it's quick-cooking oats or the pope of oats. >> the pope of oats. >> it's all whole grain, all loaded with finer. >> can also be the rabbi of oats. >> or the rabbi of oats, that's right. >> not just for breakfast because you can use it to thicken soup and because of junkie refined bread crumbs as a binder of things like turkey meatloaf and turkey meat balls, what do you think? >> absolutely. >> whole grain pasta and marina sauce. everybody needs this in their pantry. when it comes to marina sauce,

it could be a salt bomb. you want to look for brands with no more than 350 milligrams of sodium, two or less. >> salmon. >> this is wild salmon, either in the can or in the pouch. it's got more heart healthy omega three fats and whenever you can swap your tuna salad fortuna salad, add this with hot sauce, drink this stuff like crazy in my house. go with nut butters, so many great ones. >> lentils. >> good for your body and environment. go for low sodium, if you rinse them from a cole lander you reduce about 40% of the salt. >> coming up, election day through the eyes of fifth graders when we visit the class of

anncr: which do you believe? what mitt romney's tv ads say about women? or what mitt romney himself says? mitt romney: do i believe the supreme court... should overturn roe v. wade? yes. and it would be my preference that they, that they... reverse roe v. wade. hopefully reverse roe v. wade. overturn roe v. wade. planned parenthood, we're going to get rid of that. i'll cut off funding to planned parenthood. anncr: no matter what mitt romney's ads say. we know what he'll do. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message.

in our class of 2020 series we've been following a group of student from their first day of kindergarten to their high school graduation. >> and as their parents get ready to vote in today's election two of our students have been running their own campaigns for fifth grade student council president, and they are just finding out how tough politics can be at any level. >> obviously the president needs to be a school leader it's less than a month before student council elections and the candidates are learning what it takes to run for office. >> you will stand up and give a speech as to why you want to run for president. >> for fifth graders like caroline it's the last chance to be president in elementary school. >> give me the markers. >> every good campaign needs a good poster, and caroline's is straightforward. as she puts the finishing touches on her speech, caroline starts to find her voice as a candidate. >> what are you going to promise? >> i don't know. >> are you going to promise anything? >> i don't want to promise anything. >> that's probably smart.

>> because then if it doesn't happen. >> i'm nervous because i want to know who wins, but i'm excited because it's a fun process. >> just a few blocks away caroline's classmate and a good friend is preparing her own speech. >> hello, my name is ruby, and i'm running for your school president. >> ruby is branding herself as the truth candidate. >> i think you have to make a distinction and say instead of making promises i'm going to give you my ideas. >> and her poster is as colorful as her personality. for ruby making posters is the easy part. the hard part is running for president against one of her best friends. >> i don't want to lose friendships with caroline because i love caroline. >> ruby and caroline have been good friends since kindergarten. >> we promised each other we wouldn't get mad at each other if one of us won. >> on the day before the election, 300 students filled the auditorium to heart candidates make their pitch. a fifth grader named tyler

kicked off the presidential candidate speeches with a bang. >> make some noise. if you want more sports tournaments. >> yeah! >> in her speech caroline stresses her accomplishments. >> i favor recycling and did student council last year as class representative. >> and then it's ruby's turn. >> you'll hear a lot of candidates make promises that they won't keep, but i'm not making any promises. no promises. but i do have some great ideas. >> all that is left now is the voting and the counting of the ballots. >> very close between two candidates for president at this point. >> at the end of the day the candidates gather in the library to learn the results. >> i see that a lot of you are nervous, so i justybody to take and relax your bodies. >> after a few minutes of anxiety and anticipation the principal announces the results to the school. >> please excuse the interruption. the results from student council

election are in. president tyler gannet. >> caroline is speechless and ruby has to be consoled by her friends. >> are you okay? >> i'm fine. >> after school caroline and ruby comfort each other while the new president gets a big hug from his dad. ruby thinks she knows the secret to tyler's success. >> he got the whole entire third grade to vote for him. >> turns out a ground game is important, even in elementary school elections. a valuable lesson for the girls' next attempt at politics. >> maybe just walk around campus a little more. >> yeah. >> maybe just like get to know people more. >> all about that ground game. well, caroline and ruby say they feel good about how they ran their campaigns, and most important they maintained their friendship throughout the process and for more on the class of 2020 visit our website, today.

9:57 is your time now on this november 6th election day. the polls are open in the district, maryland and virginia. lines are up to an hour or more in most polling locations. virginia polls close at 7:00 tonight. d.c. and maryland close at 8:00. grab your coat as you head out the door. it's cold out there. tom kierein has a look at the forecast. >> almost 10:00. upper 30s to around 40 now.

sunshine, a bit of a breeze. it's going to be in the upper 40s later this afternoon. cloudy tomorrow. a coastal storm might bring rain and snow east of i-95. sunshine, warmer weather into the weekend. danella, how is the traffic? >> a crash was blocking the right lane. you had delays at connecticut avenue, but it looks better now. the beltway in virginia, inner loop and outer loop is nice and clear. over to you. >> thank you. news 4 today is working for you on this election day. before you vote, see the voting guide on www.nbcwashington.com.

from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb. live from studio 1-a in rockefeller plaza. >> hello, everybody, hoda and i want to wish you a happy booze day today. it is election day, november 6th. >> it certainly is. >> i have already voted. for the first time in my life, i did -- what is it called? >> ababsentee. >> that's it. so there's no way of getting home. we know i won't get out at all. >> a will the of people are at

the polls. my mom called me this morning at 6:15, and she said i'm on the line. >> i love the way she talks. >> i don't remember now. >> there she is, cutest thing. >> go past my mom all the way down. >> that's at 6:15? >> yeah, she was there early, she was midway through. >> how long did it take her actually in line, hoda? >> by 6:30 or 6:45 she voted and was taking more pictures of the line. once you get in there, it starts going. here is kelsey's baby. i guess kelsey baby loaded, because you can get those kind of stickers. people were tweeting all these great pictures. carrie m. showed the lines in virginia. virginia, again, is a swing state, so a lot of people are coming out to vote there. that's in atlanta. that was becky's line. jen from jupiter, florida, she has a voting partner. >> darling. >> in jersey, polling places with power will be open.

>> i heard it was raining. >> some parts. >> jupiter is south. i hear around orlando it's raining. >> everyone says this election is going to be -- >> all about turnout. >> who knows tonight if we're going to know or tomorrow or what's going to be happening. well, we do know what happened in dicksville notch. it's the first place in the country, they've been doing it since 1948, i think. 1960, 1960. i guess the card is wrong. i certainly couldn't be, but the card is capable of it. >> all ten people who live there. >> all ten people. >> all ten people voted. here's the results from dixville notch. of the five people -- >> of the ten people. >> five voted for mitt romney and five voted for barack obama.

look how it's -- everyone knows who everyone voted. >> that's going to be like the nation, don't you think? virgil goode got nothing. that's got to be embarrassing. in a town of ten? he didn't get one, didn't he vote for himself? that doesn't make any sense. certainly, he voted for himself. >> don't knock virgil, he's having a bad day already. >> i feel bad for virgil, somebody should give him a mercy vote. how do you show your face in dixville notch, hoda? jimmy fallon had an exciting way of telling who's going to be the next president. he has a girl but her name is gary. he put out two bowls of food, each marked with a name, and let his puppy choose. >> let's watch. >> gary, as i'm sure you know,

mitt romney is a free market purist while barack obama thinks -- gary, pay attention. romney has promised to cut spending and repeal obama care and obama wants america to become energy independent by focusing on clean energy. these are just the basics, but they should help you make an informed decision. are you ready to vote, gary? all right, here we go, guys, good luck, the next four years. here you go, gary. mitt romney! gary is going for mitt romney. >> when he picks him up, which i hope we show, the reveal it is, in fact, a girl. >> it is a girl. i should have brought bambino. who would know better than bambino? here's some other vote predictors, odd ball things people think works. here's the world series rule, if the american league wins the world series, the republican league wins the election.

if the national league wins the championship, the democrat will prevail. the san francisco giants won, so according to that little bit means obama wins. >> right. and the redskins rule is if the washington redskins win their last home win the incumbent takes the white house. it's been accurate 17 out of the last 18 elections. the redskins lost to the carolina panthers, so the winner is romney. >> here's the only way to really tell who's going to win the election. >> it's always in the nuts. >> it's about noke, a squirrel from charleston, south carolina. he predicts who's going to be the president by whose nuts he ends up eating. there's a bowl of nuts for romney -- >> thank you for clearing that up. >> so what nuts did noke eat? >> he ate nine peanuts from the romney bowl and only five from the obama bowl. let's see if noke is right. who knows. you know who knows? that's it. that's who knows. all the pundits are all over the

map. everybody's way to victory to the 270 electoral. let's talk about that. now that we're on the subject and we're not going to reveal who we're supporting. you don't need anymore agony in your life. we were talking this morning in the make-up room about how regardless of who wins or loses, it seems to me we have lost something very, very powerful by not letting every american feel like their vote counts somehow. i understand the need for the electoral college when our founding fathers were putting together, you know, the plan. they were brilliant, brilliant men, but in today's world, it seems to me that it's so exclusive. add up, let everybody's vote count exactly the same. and while we are on that, why do we get -- do you agree with that, by the way? >> here's the deal, you do feel in a lot of states it doesn't matter because your state is going a certain way, therefore,

what's the point. i like the idea of everyone voting. i don't think you can complain unless you vote. i just think inside it's an important thing. i do think it seems a little old fashioned. a lot of things seem old fashioned. last night it was 5:00 and it's dark. >> i know. who made that great idea? >> think about that concept. i get it, farmers back in the day, but now all our entire nation, except indiana or something -- >> arizona or something. >> something, they turn the clocks. imagine if you were living across the world and look at us, oh, this is the day all the people in america change their clocks in the airports and everyone falls back an hour. we're messing with the clocks. i think now we can leave that alone. the sunny one, the one we like, where it's lighter later. >> that's right. >> i care about it a lot. >> why do we always have the election the first tuesday in november? >> well, there are some reasons. there are some facts about that. >> hoda is going to wait until

they come up. >> it's the harvest and farmers again. >> farmers are ruing our lyes. when farmers were least needed was after the harvest. couldn't be monday, because it usually took them a day to get to a polling place. >> right. >> okay. so they put it on a tuesday. couldn't be wednesday, because they have market day, market day. >> sunday was the sabbath. >> people back then cared about going to church, which leaves thirsty thursday, everyone wants to get drunk by then. >> let's talk about booze day tuesday for a minute. it is booze day tuesday in addition to being election day. not everyone can celebrate booze day tuesday. >> we're in solidarity right now with south carolina and kentucky. >> you're out of luck, you can't have this. here's the rule. 80 years after prohibition's repeal, those were the only two that banned alcohol in

restaurants and bars on election day. >> you can buy your vote with drinks. >> yeah. >> still could. maybe we should follow kentucky and south carolina into this thing. >> anyway, they can't celebrate. i heard a rumor about that. >> all righty. anyway, here's our booze day tuesday drink. >> scott conint, who's on later in our show. am i pronouncing our guest right? >> i think so. >> it's got gin. i don't want to get my tongue blue. >> do it. >> quite the punch. i forgot who i voted for. sara is over at democracy plaza. >> this is a big deal we have outside. >> we want more of you to know about it, it's cool. >> hi, sara. >> there's so much fun stuff going on out here. you can get your picture taken in the oval office or white house press briefing room. there's some caricature artists that can draw your pictures. they made this fourth hour and i

made some corrections. everyone knows that's chardonnay. but also you can do a mock n news report, all the festivities are here until 8:00 p.m. tonight. they are expecting thousands to watch the election coverage on the big screen, so if you haven't been here, come out and see what's going on here at rockefeller plaza. >> can we see that picture one more time, sara, i don't know if you can hear us. >> can you shoot us here? >> widen out, i'm scared. >> oh, my god! do i look le that, seriously? >> a little. >> no, hoda, you do not. >> only in a fifth wind. >> what are you -- you're making it worse. >> i'm not an artist, i was taking my own. there are professionals here. >> wow. wow. somebody needs to see dr dr. wrexler. okay, parenting in public. how do manage your kids when they make a scene in front of everybody. everything you need to keep

warm and stylish in winter after this. fit 'em in my budget. well, with the walmart credit card special financing offer, you can get the sony blu-ray home theater system with wi-fi and the high zoom cyber-shot camera with full hd. look at you, spreading some christmas joy! my cart's kinda full. mind holding these? sure. you know what, muscle man, me and you together, we can knock this christmas thing out. this way, sweetie. [ male announcer ] get the season's hottest brands like the sony blu-ray home theater system. make an electronics purchase of $429 or more on your walmart credit card and get no interest if paid in full within 18 months. america's gift headquarters. walmart. this reduced sodium soup says it may help lower cholesterol, how does it work? you just have to eat it as part of your heart healthy diet. step 1. eat the soup. all those veggies and beans, that's what may help lower your cholesterol and -- well that's easy [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

yeah it's a... it's threemendous. [ male announcer ] say hello to mcdonald's new cbo. smooth cheddar, crispy bacon, grilled onions on the angus third pounder or premium chicken sandwiches. the simple joy of...

threemendous. the simple joy of... why they're always there to talk. i love you, james. don't you love me? i'm a robot. i know. i know you're a robot! but there's more in you than just circuits and wires! uhhh. (cries) a machine can't give you what a person can. that's why ally has knowledgeable people there for you, night and day. ally bank. your money needs an ally.

it's something every parent has to deal with. you make a quick trip to the supermarket or head out to a restaurant and your kid has a major meltdown, crying, screaming, whining, the works. >> it's one thing to discipline them at home. it's another when everyone is watching and judging. so how do you parent in public? here with some solutions, executive editor of "parents" magazine. and new york times best selling author. >> hi, ladies. >> i'm only five chapters into lisa's new book, and it is fabulous. you recognize yourself in this book right off the bat, then you realize she's so much worse than you are, which is great. we like that. it's so honest, congratulations. >> good for you. >> we lose control over things and it teaches you how to stay in control of what you can't control. >> speaking of that very thing,

there are times when you're out with your kids and you do have that feeling, my kid's having a meltdown, i'm in the grocery store. what's the 101 on a situation like that? >> you do need to take a deep breath. chances are people in the store watching the tantrum have been through it themselves. >> it's the people without children that are the most judgmental. they can be the people that put you down the most for having a meltdown with a child. >> it was interesting, when we talked to the grocery store clerks, they had good tips. put your kids in charge of something at the store. >> give them a task. >> yeah, give them a task. if they are going to be there in the cart, they are going to whine for food, to get out. give him the shopping list to check off for you, that's what my daughter does. >> they have to be old enough to be able to do it. >> with toddlers, hand them bananas, yellow.

keep them involved. >> should you apologize if the meltdown happens, first thing, i'm sorry, i'm sorry. is that the right thing to do? >> i think in the moment you have to assess what is most urgent and realize that just because you're having a bad moment doesn't make you a bad mother. you may have nothing to apologize for. it may be more important to address with your child in this moment and quickly assess, are they acting this way because they feel insecure or are being defiant. if defiant, maybe an apology is in order, but if they are being hungry, tired, insecure, than really give your child the attention they are crying out for. >> prep your child for what you're about to step into, for instance, going to the doctors or something. >> absolutely, do role-playing at home, get out a play set, give them a play shot, tell them it might hurt, be honest. don't tell them it might hurt. >> sting for just a second.

>> you don't want to scare them from the doctor. a doctor should be a place they feel comfortable. there's less likely to be a tantrum if they know what to expect. >> what if they do throw a tantrum? cody did it one time in bloomingdales, i said we're out of here, grabbed him, and took him home. did i do the right thing? >> i think so. remove your child from the situation. >> can't reason with them when they are doing it. >> don't try to reason with them. don't try to have a conversation with an irrational child. >> no place to have a time-out, you know, can't take them some place in bloomingdales. >> your car, the street, some place calm you can calm down and they can calm down as well. >> doesn't make you a bad mother to have bad moments. we've all been there. got to have a little mercy with one another. >> thank you for coming to see it, appreciate it. >> appreciate it. the world is her canvas, sara has fun with spray paint. i thought that was against the law. >> it is.

>> right after this. hmm these smell amazing, too bad the guys aren't here we're clear. ok, swarm! swarm! hello [ female announcer ] pillsbury chocolate chip cookies. let the making begin [ male announcer ] it's that time of year. time for campbell's green bean casserole. you'll find the recipe at campbellskitchen.com. ♪ campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do.

to bring you a low-priced medicare prescription drug plan. ♪ with a low national plan premium... ♪ ...and copays as low as one dollar... ♪ ...saving on your medicare prescriptions is easy. ♪ so you're free to focus on the things that really matter. call humana at 1-800-808-4003. or go to walmart.com for details.

call humana at 1-800-808-4003. mommy! i went potty! that's great, honey.... where? for life's bleachable moments. ♪ in everything you do [ female announcer ] add your own ingredients to hamburger helper for a fresh take on a quick, delicious meal. it's one box with hundreds of possibilities.

and it is time for sara in the city. this week sara learns the art -- >> okay. >> this is a different kind of graffi graffiti. >> who looks freakier, okay? >> trying to figure out, there's somebody you look like. >> a drag queen. i look like a drag queen. >> that's what it is. lucky chengs, that's right, that's what it is. >> don't go deeper here. sara heads across the bridge into queens, new york, a hot spot where culture is really cool. >> i got to visit a building covered with spray paint, but besides the art, it's known for its hip-hop culture and i got a chance to explore this graffiti artist mecca. often people think of graffiti as vandalism, but in long island

city, new york, graffiti isn't a crime, but a work of art. >> it's the largest art center in the world. it means it is the biggest legal spot for graffiti artists from all over the world to come and paint. >> and they do. founded in 2002, five points is a five-story building where thousands of artists have come to display their work. it's not just the walls you guys have painted. >> we paint everything. >> with the dumpsters, one man's trash is another man's treasure. >> yeah, it looks better. >> definitely. >> more than just a psychedelic space, people come to dance, deejay, and have fun. i met up with the dynamic rockers. why five points? >> it's legal. we're able to express ourselves here like a safe haven. >> can you show me a couple moves in dynamics? don't judge a book by its cover. ♪

yeah! just joined the troops. i'm sweating. on the street, i found another part of the hip-hop community. two beat boxers were making music without instruments. >> give you a demo first? >> demo. ♪ >> that was awesome. >> all right. your turn. >> before i knew it, i was making some crazy sounds. ♪ i had created a hip-hop party. ♪ under the sun i let the day glow ♪ ♪ we're filming the segment for the -- today show ♪ >> finally, i caught up with the

creator of five point. our camera caught him working on a masterpiece. hoda and kathie at five points, check it out. i love the ipod, love the wine, i love you got it right. she's a chardonnay girl. >> left a little to get your hands dirty. >> this is going to be fun. i notice you kept it to the easier parts maybe. >> first of all, spray away, nice speed to not worry about drips. >> i love you're painting a rainb rainbow. >> there's no mistakes in spray paint. are you sure you've never done it before? >> if i did, i wouldn't admit it, this is the only legal place to do it. looks excellent. thank you. kathie lee and hoda want to see the man who put them on the side of the building. they look skinny. you did a girl justice. the building suffered some very minor damage during hurricane sandy, but fortunately the artwork is all still standing.

>> i would love to suggest he goes back there and there's a little room to the left of me to put our baby sister sara in there. >> sneakers, heels do not belong. >> that was really great. what do you do about tipping. >> bad service, should you tip, should you not? go! go now for olive garden's new dinner today, dinner tomorrow. two dinners for two nights just $12.95. choose one of five entrees tonight. then take home a different entrée for tomorrow. two nights of deliciousness for just $12.95! go olive garden.

sure, bisquick makes delicious pancakes, but that's just the start. unleash the hidden power of bisquick. see what you can make at bisquick.com. well, with the walmart credit card special financing offer, you can get the sony blu-ray home theater system with wi-fi and the high zoom cyber-shot camera with full hd. look at you, spreading some christmas joy! my cart's kinda full. mind holding these? sure. you know what, muscle man, me and you together, we can knock this christmas thing out. this way, sweetie. [ male announcer ] get the season's hottest brands like the sony blu-ray home theater system. make an electronics purchase of $429 or more on your walmart credit card and get no interest if paid in full within 18 months. america's gift headquarters. walmart.

what mitt romney's tv ads say about women? if paid in full within 18 months. or what mitt romney himself says? mitt romney: do i believe the supreme court... should overturn roe v. wade? yes. and it would be my preference that they, that they... reverse roe v. wade. hopefully reverse roe v. wade. overturn roe v. wade. planned parenthood, we're going to get rid of that. i'll cut off funding to planned parenthood. anncr: no matter what mitt romney's ads say. we know what he'll do. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message.

we're back on this booze day tuesday with more of "today." we find ourselves in awkward situations where we're not sure where to tip somebody. >> a recent study found more than a third of us found that 25% is the more 15%. >> i don't. >> we hit the streets to find out what you think the standard should be. take a look. >> a good percentage to tip someone actually depends on the service, but if i have to give a numerical, 18%. >> as a waitress, i expect or hope for 20% to 22%, 23%. >> biggest tip i've given someone is $50 on a $25 meal.

she was such a great waitress, wonderful. >> worst tip i ever received was from the sweetest french couple, and i was practicing my french with them and we had a great rapport, but i think they didn't understand the tipping policy and left 37 cents. >> the best tip i've given somebody is $120, it was a tip to a limo driver. actually, we all tipped him well for a great time. >> bad service, i've left a penny once. i have to admit. >> usually as a colorist, we receive our tips in envelopes and they get handed to us. sometimes it's empty, and it just says thank you. >> i would say the worst tip i've gotten is you're a great waiter. >> oh, all right. >> debra is the senior editor of "forbes" travel guide. hey, girl. >> since when did it change to

25%? i got used to the 20%. >> there is tip inflation, but 20% is more the norm. >> maybe in new york 25% for a lot of people. >> i thought it was different, too, breakfast or lunch as opposed to a fine dinner. has that changed, too? >> i don't think it's changed, per se, but here's the thing, tipping is not optional. even if it's bad service, tip 10%. you never know the reason for the service. >> i don't necessarily agree with that. if it's really bad, you need to speak to the manager or maitre d' and get a discount because the food was horrible, then you give a tip. >> i get many people -- >> they make bad money. >> here's the thing, you want to get a good tip, most of the time put more energy and more passion into what you do to serve people. i gave a huge tip the other day to a cab driver and he didn't even say thank you. he's being rude and not being grateful. >> it's a circle. the circle of giving and

receiving, and if you don't say thank you, then it sort of fires back on the other person, you feel terrible. >> hoda goes, you're welcome. >> i say it out loud, if they don't say thank you. say you're on a takeout-y place where you call it in and there's a tip jar or something there. >> they haven't really served you. >> leave a tip. >> i agree. >> they are taking the time out of their day to serve you and not the other people who are there and they are not compensated extra for it. >> i feel that's their job. i think if they did something extra, you leave something, but i don't understand the philosophy of takeout and tipping. >> i think in the u.s. -- >> if they deliver it to you. >> okay. >> kind of like the woman who said 37 cents, i think in the u.s. the tendency is if you touch it, you tip it. there is an expectation that people who work in the service industry are not compensated and we don't include it in the bill,

so you have to give that extra amount. >> mandatory, put it in the thing. >> some restaurants they do. >> maybe take advantage of that as well and not serve. >> there was a hairstylist there. what if you go and get your hair colored, i can't believe she got an empty envelope, but sometimes the owner of the shop colors your hair. is it weird to tip the owner? >> you tipped everybody else except the owner. now, you know, now it's questionable. i know you say absolutely. >> you say tip the owner? what do you say? >> the owner has all the extra expense. my mother's rule, was the owner is making all the extra money. today, it's questionable. >> you're a far more generous person. >> i think if i were hanging out with you, i'd have to have a bag of money. >> if your friend doesn't tip, you need to pick up the flak. >> one of the worst things is you split the bill and watch what your friends leave as a tip and i've gone back after.

i think i left my scarf because i feel so crummy. >> get new friends and cut them for what they are worth. >> what i'll do now is say what are we going to tip them so that we talk about it and agree on it so they are at least thinking about it. >> what did she say? >> we were tuned out for just a second. >> ladies, thank you, that was really great. >> you're both so generous. ♪ jill martin has the hottest trends to warm you up. by the way, ms. jill has been doing good deeds all over this by the way, ms. jill has been doing good deeds all over this town and we're awfully [ dog barking ] ♪ [ female announcer ] life is full of little tests, but your basic paper towel can handle them. especially if that towel is bounty basic. the towel that's durable, and scrubbable. in this lab demo, bounty basic is stronger than the leading bargain brand. everyday life? bring it with bounty basic.

the strong but affordable picker-upper... now costs even less. yeah it's a... it's threemendous. [ male announcer ] say hello to mcdonald's new cbo. smooth cheddar, crispy bacon, grilled onions on the angus third pounder or premium chicken sandwiches. the simple joy of... threemendous. the simple joy of... you can't argue with nutrition you can see. great grains. great grains cereal starts whole and stays whole. see the seam? more processed flakes look nothing like natural grains. i'm eating what i know is better nutrition. mmmm. great grains. search great grains and see for yourself.

your soups are so awesomely delicious my husband and i can't stop eating 'em! what's...that... on your head? can curlers! tomato basil, potato with bacon... we've got a lot of empty cans. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. ♪

wow... [ female announcer ] sometimes, all you need is the smooth, creamy taste of werther's original caramel to remind you that you're someone very special. ♪ now discover new caramel apple filled werther's original.

today's style is brought to you by yoplait.

it is time for today's style, and just because temperatures around the country are dropping, doesn't mean it's an excuse to lose your look. >> yeah. scarves and hats to winter coats, even gloves for sipping champagne. "today" and us weekly contributor and author jill martin has affordable trends for us. >> cheers. >> she's been delivering hot meals and a lot of the things you'll see today, the accessories will be given to people today. god bless you, jill, thank you. >> i want to start with what you're wearing, because carolina amato, everyone is asking me who dresses the talent, you, savannah, sara, natalie. all the accessories when you're outside. starting at $19 you can get in on it. you're wearing some of the things right now, scarves and gloves. >> thank you. >> and the bubbly. >> this is a limited edition.

marcjacobs.com for $35. they've taeeamed up with the yellow label for these gloves. if you're having an outdoor concert or fiesta, you can give these out, they are cashmere, they are great and come in a nice little case. and we get to drink champagne. coming up next, trendy jackets. these are from h&m. all under $50. >> i like that. >> look at the belt. can you see the little -- it's ornate. see a little detailing. really inexpensive. going into the holiday season, then go with something bright or more conservative, something with a little more style. >> that looks like burberry. it's not burberry. >> now ll bean.

this is dash. >> he looks like he's going skiing. >> this is the latest ll bean wear. you can get something for the whole family, it's really warm. stephanie is highlighting the new trend, faux fur. >> these are hot. >> we made a deal if he was quiet he could have a donut. now it's donut time. aren't these great, keep your wine warm. restoration hardware, it becomes totally warm as if you want to be warmer. >> love it. >> starting at $9. to keep it warm or cool for the if you're going out on a picnic and these are just to keep in your pocket. everything you see here is under $50. >> so much of the faux fur when it first came out was really scratchy. this is soft. >> this is coldwatercreek.com. more accessories here. everything under $50. >> that's faux also. >> now we are debuting the

holiday collection from uggs. >> ugg, i know it, but i wear both. i shouldn't say it. >> i wear two, so i call them uggs. >> uggs boots, this is the holiday collection for men, women, and children. starting at $60 and go up from there. depending on your price point, i want to show you what's out right now. you are wearing the classic style. >> they last forever. i got 10-year-old uggs. >> now you're showing off. >> two ugg, one ugg. echodesigns.com. i thought of you. the headphones are built in. >> i love those. >> these are cute, and i love the patterns here. also they have the finger-less and tech gloves. everybody loves their accessories. i love this. >> these are so cute. >> computerdashapparel.com. it holds everything. i kept this back here to show you. there's a pocket here for your ipod. >> are you kidding? >> then on the back you can

put -- >> all kinds of stuff. >> those are my notes for the show in case everyone was wondering. >> that's adorable. >> i like it. >> also a great gift for $40. then you need a great umbrella. this is perko.com if you want to give the gift of looking cool. then i'm about to get wet, or do you want to get wet? >> should we spray you? >> sara is in a finished version, this is an umbrella from restoration hardware. you spray it, it's supposed to be when it's downpour. >> oh, my gosh. >> it changes color. you can be the trendy colorful one. >> here it is. it's showing, it's coming. >> kids, we're going to roll. that was awesome. >> thank you, jill. coming up, an election day meal that will get your vote in "today's" kitchen after this. at yoplait, we want you to feel even better about your favorite flavors.

so when you call, tweet, and post, we listen. that's why yoplait light and yoplait original are now made with no high fructose corn syrup. and why we use only natural colors and natural flavors in yoplait original. so, anything else we can do for you, let us know. but you'll keep it to yogurt, right? 'cause we shouldn't really help with your love life. yoplait. it is so good! 'cause we shouldn't really help go now for olive garden'se. new dinner today, dinner tomorrow. two dinners for two nights just $12.95. choose one of five entrees tonight. then take home a different entrée for tomorrow. two nights of deliciousness for just $12.95! go olive garden. tomato, obviously. haha. there's more than that though,

there's a kick to it. wahlalalalallala! smooth, but crisp. it's kind of like drinking a food that's a drink, or a drink that's a food, woooooh! [ male announcer ] taste it and describe the indescribable. could've had a v8.

this portion of "today" is powered by windows 8. it is time for today's kitchen what's cookin'. >> we are exercising our democratic right to indulge in a delicious red, white, and blue meal. good to see you. >> congratulations on your new baby girl. >> thank you very much. >> how exciting, huh? >> great stuff. >> we're making a red, white, and blue meal. >> we're going to start with some risotto. there's nothing that says american like italian food. starting with risotto, i have shallots, a touch of crushed red pepper inside there. i'm going to start the process, toast it a bit, then add some white wine. >> what kind do you use, you don't use an expensive white wine? >> no, no, no. chardonnay, something a little

bit bright, not too okaoaky. >> then okay. >> chicken broth we cook it with. i'm adding some beef puree to make it red. pink peppercorns, which i love the flavor combination, pink peppercorns and beets. finish it with a bit of butter, parmesan cheese, and then just mix it all up to this beautiful color. >> look at that. >> that is a thing of beauty. >> beets are interesting. people either love them or they hate them. i used to hate them until i actually tasted one. i love them. they are so good for you. >> they are great. raw beets in salad, also. i have this here -- >> what is this, a cheese? >> it's a cheese. it's a little bit funky. has a really great flavor to it.

>> i don't like my food funky, but go ahead. >> i like it a little funky. >> of course, you do. >> so i will say this -- >> hoda can't have a bite because of the cheese. >> this is white bean soup with panchetta and horseradish. >> look what's happening there with horseradish. >> is there cream? >> no cream in there. >> try that, hoda. >> that's good. that's good. that is the blue drink. >> yeah, we tried it. >> i love this. i got to say. this is really good stuff. >> we get lucky sometimes. >> delicious. >> the horseradish adds a nice element in the back end. it's good. >> also funky. >> not as funky. >> all the recipes, by the way, on our website, klgandhoda.com. yoga poses you can do at your desk, but first this is

charlie rose: will you endorse president obama?

colin powell: yes. when he took over we were in one of the... worst recessions we had seen in recent times... close to a depression. and i saw, over the next several years, stabilization... come back in the financial community. housing is starting to pick up. the president saved the auto industry. and the actions he's taken with respect to... protecting us from terrorism have been very, very solid. and so, i think we ought to keep on the track that we are on. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message.

time to get fit with kathie lee and hoda with yoga at the office. if you sit hunched over your computer all day long, you probably have sore shoulders or a strained back. >> but there are stretches you can do at your desk without looking completely ridiculous. lauren should know, a yoga coach and spectacular person. see some of the moves this woman has heard. >> that's what i heard. >> anyway, tell us what you can do at our own desk. >> i picked ones you won't look too silly at your desk doing. it's all about having a elongated, decompressed spine, gives you more oxygen. >> hi, sara. >> sara is here. >> we can't spread this. >> you can sit four hours in front of your computer before you know it. it weakens the back.

>> what are we doing, i missed the whole thing. >> nice and straight, head back, forward and stretch the neck. inhale up and exhale forward. a few times to get that flexion extension going. >> does feel good. >> the next one we're going to do, sit back in your chair, a nice spinal twist. be more mindful of your technique. be nice and tall, then on your exhale, you twist. inhale get tall and exhale twist. might even get a back crack out of it. >> i just did. >> and the other side, always. chin over the shoulder. and another thing that happens at the desk is you get stiffness in the hips. you get up and feel, oh, so we're going to do pigeon. if you're in a dress, you're going to just cross your legs. we don't want any situations, but if you're in pants, you're going to go into a figure four, nice flex foot to protect the knee, sit up nice and tall, and

pull forward, leaning with the heart. you feel a nice hip stretch. sara girl, hip-hop sara, i should say. >> sara's got moves. >> don't forget the other side always. all right, all right, you can go other side. then the best stretch ever is bringing your hands back. want to sit on the edge of your chair and grabbing the chair. you're more flexible, your palms can face out. go like you're on the the bow of a ship. heart throw, head back. >> queen of the world! >> i said the exact same thing. >> do whatever you want, as long as you feel open. >> that feels good. >> nice, deep breaths. >> put a post-it to remind yourself, once in the morning, once in the afternoon, right? >> just get the spine open. >> thank you. >> you're welcome, you're welcome. coming up tomorrow, guess who's here. >> twilight actress nikki reen! >> styles for kids. >> have a great tuesday, see you

at "scandalous" tonight. don't forget to vote!